Worth A Thousand Words
by george's firework
Summary: A collection of very short chapters detailing Severus Snape's thoughts on Lily Evans, and hers on him, at various stages in their lives. Not in any set order.
1. In Between Worlds

**Key phrase: In Between Worlds**

Kissing her was like being in between two worlds.

The first world was a place of paradise, a haven for those who have ever been neglected in their lives. It was a place where someone could go and love and be loved in return, a place for the rejected to realise that somehow, they would find love again even if it was in a completely different form to the previous one they had been rejected by. It was a beautiful place, cheerily chockfull of sunshine and rainbows and general feelings of happiness. Everything was wonderful there and he never wanted to leave.

But the second world was a world of nightmares. A world where bad people are sent when they commit wrong-doings, and he had done so many, especially to her. He couldn't avoid going to this world because it had such a pulling force over him that he was dragged under until he couldn't see which way was right and which was wrong and it was so, so confusing.

Because kissing Lily Evans was so right and so wrong at the same time. And to him, Serverus Snape, it was only a dream.

**This is the first very short chapter in a multi-chapter which will hopefully have 120 chapters when I'm done. This comes from a challenge at the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum, which is a brilliant place to go if you're suffering from writer's block.**


	2. Love

**Key phrase: Love**

"What Petunia?"

"What? What do you mean what? How can you answer my question with a question? Not even a question, a word question!"

Lily was lounging on her small bed in the room that she shared with her sister. It was the Christmas of her first year at Hogwarts and, though she hadn't wanted to, Lily had come home to see her parents and her older sister. She had only been home for three days and already she missed Hogwarts and her bizarre classes and all the friends she had made. Especially Serverus, she missed him as he had stayed at school for the holiday. Petunia had been surprisingly quiet for the first few days but apparently her patience had come to its end and now Lily was guaranteed a few weeks of constant questions about the workings of magic.

"Well your question didn't make much sense," Lily lazily flicked her hair behind her ear and looked at her sister for the first time since she had asked the question. She was lying on her back, her wand in the air above her as she admired the quality of the make. She had been tracing it absently through the air, running through spells in her head but not daring to say them out loud as she didn't want to get in trouble, when Petunia had burst in with an odd question.

"How's Serverus? How does that not make sense?" Petunia flopped onto her own bed and looked at her younger sister with confusion. She folded her legs neatly beneath her and patted her hair to make sure no strands had sprung loose from her perfect bun. She and Lily were polar opposites: Petunia a neat, careful girl with tightly tied-up hair; Lily careless and wild with her flame-coloured hair much reflecting her personality in those aspects.

"Well it doesn't make sense because you don't like Sev," Lily said with a strong air of stating the obvious. She sat up, hair curling madly around her shoulders, and looked her sister right in the eye. "Why are you really asking?"

"Well, I figured that if you love him so much, I should at least try and get on with him." Petunia shrugged her bony shoulders, avoiding her sister's now steely gaze.

"What do you mean 'love him so much'? I don't love Sev – he's my best friend."

"Lily, he's the only boy – no, the only person you've actually talked about since you got home. It's always 'Sev is so brilliant at potions. Sev is so great at flying. I was stuck on my homework the other day and Sev came over and helped me without having to even think about it...'" Petunia trailed off.

"Petunia, I'm only twelve! You can't love someone when you're twelve, I mean I love him as a friend but not in the way you're saying. Ew!" Petunia sighed and shook her head at how innocent her sister seemed.

"Either way, he's in love with you."


	3. Sunset

**Disclaimer: I own neither the characters, the setting, nor the quote that can be found at the end.**

**Keyword: Sunset**

It wasn't until the next day that he found out.

He was on his way to Hogwarts to see Dumbledore, to make sure that they were safe. He hadn't known, had never dreamed that Black had given Secret Keeper over to Pettigrew, the traitor. No-one had told him, had informed him that it was going to happen on Halloween night. But it had.

He had apparated into Hogsmeade and been greeted by a scene of great celebration. It seemed that the entire village had gathered in the street to celebrate some unknown occasion. A feeling of dread filled his stomach as he found someone in the crowd who wouldn't know his face and asked what the celebration was for.

"Why, because He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead of course! Killed! Vanquished! Banished out of our lives forever by a mere toddler!"

His master was dead? How could this be possible? What of his Horcruxes? Those extra measures he had taken just to make sure that he could cling to the Earth for all the time he wished. And how had he not been told before this?

Serverus's head filled with a whirlwind of thought as he hurried through the crowds, his brain going at a hundred miles per hour.

If his master was dead, then what of the Potter family?

What of Lily Evans?

* * *

><p>"<em>I thought... you were going... to keep her... safe..."<em>

* * *

><p>When Serverus Snape apparated away from Hogwarts, far, far away, he could see only the colour of Lily's hair in the sunset.<p> 


	4. Deep

**What is the Lily/Serverus relationship without a bit of James Potter? He's second only to Sirius in my favourites list during the Marauders Era.**

**Keyword: Deep**

"Oi, Evans! Fancy going to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" James Potter yelled across the common room, standing precariously on a chair so he could actually see Lily over the swell of people. Sirius, Peter and Remus were lounging around on chairs near to James, Peter watching James with wide eyes, Sirius alternating glances between James and a pretty sixth year beside the fire, and Remus quietly reading a book with a faint smile on his face.

"No." Lily didn't even look up from the letter she was reading avidly, her answer only just loud enough for James to hear. James grabbed the back of the chair he was standing on and jumped over it, tripping as he landed which brought a slight smirk to Lily's face and caused Sirius, Peter and various others to laugh uproariously at him. James just grinned cockily around the room, rumpling up the back of his hair as he approached Lily. People gradually drifted back to their original preoccupations as James attempted to charm Lily.

"Aw, come on Evans, what's your reason this time?" James plopped down onto the windowsill beside Lily's chair and propped his feet up on her table, narrowly avoiding covering her letter with mud. She sighed and looked away from her letter only long enough to scowl heavily at him.

"The same as every other time. I don't want to," Lily hissed at him, twitching her letter closer to her and further away from his muddy feet. "Get your muddy feet off my table, James. Some of us actually enjoy reading."

"Oooooh, using my first name for once? Must be serious. For your information, I do enjoy reading; I just don't often have people writing essays to me. Who even wrote that novel of a letter to you?" James enquired, sticking his head at a pretty awkward angle in an attempt to read over Lily's shoulder. Lily responded by attempting to smack him in the chest and jerk her letter out of sight at the same time but James still managed to catch sight of the signature at the end of the letter.

"Snivellus?" He roared, making several people shoot up in surprise. Remus smacked his head off the sofa he was leaning against and Sirius snickered. James sat staring at Lily for a moment then suddenly dived over her and grabbed her bag. She shrieked indignantly as he took off with it, trying to pull the letter out of it whilst simultaneously avoiding furniture, people and Lily's screamed curses.

"'_Once again I apologise, Lily, because it was terrible of me to say such things. I'm truly, deeply sorry. I heard Petunia telling you how deep my feelings are...' _What the hell is this?" James bellowed, brandishing the letter at Lily as he continued to run away from her around the common room.

"How dare you!" Lily screeched, her wand producing rapidly sporadic bursts of light as she chased James. "You impertinent little toe-rag! Give me that back right away! What people write to me is absolutely none of your business, let alone the business of the entire Gryffindor house! And how do you have the courage to question what the contents of that letter are? You don't _own _me, James!" Lily yelled.


	5. Seeking Solace

**These keywords aren't getting any easier, let me tell you that. I'm having good fun writing this though, it's nice to be able to challenge myself so much. HPFC really is a great forum if you're suffering from terrible writer's block.**

**Keywords: Seeking solace.**

Severus felt _terrible._

He had been being honest, it had just slipped out of his mouth and he completely hadn't realised until a few precious seconds later. Now he was still standing out in the cold hallway, wishing he'd brought a warmer jumper with him. The Fat Lady was glaring at him with great disapproval.

"You deserved that," she said quite loudly and he scowled at her.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, portrait!" He snapped and strode off, but he only made it around the corner before he sank onto the stone floor and rested his head on his knees.

He knew how much he'd upset her, how could anyone have not been upset by their own friend calling them such a derogatory term? And despite his overall feelings of regret and guilt, Severus couldn't help but feel a prickle of jealousy. Who was she with now? Was she seeking solace in James Potter's arms? He could stand for her finding comfort from anyone but Potter. Well, he wouldn't be exactly thrilled if Black was the one to make her happy. In fact, he wouldn't be terribly overjoyed if anyone comforted her… she shouldn't even need to be comforted!

He was such an idiot.


	6. Break Away

**I'd just like to apologise for spelling Severus as 'Serverus' in previous chapters, because I honestly didn't notice I'd spelt it wrong :O No-one's commented, but I felt the need to apologise anyway.**

**Keywords: Break Away**

For Lily Evans, breaking away from Severus Snape was a lot easier than she thought it would have been.

He had been her best friend for as long as she could remember; ever since that day when she had flown off the swing and shown Petunia that flower. Oh how she wished she was back in those days – away from the stress of school, free from the drama of teenage-dom and hormones, and not having to constantly worry as to whether her latest spell would blow up her desk. Of course, she didn't worry about that much anyway as she wasn't anything like James Potter and his goons.

That boy! Oh, how he made her blood boil. She had never met such an insufferable, impertinent, arrogant, unendurably annoying, aggravating little… son of a bludger! There were so many words she could use to describe her intense dislike of him. Severus had provided her with many over the years but now… now she was thinking of how some of those words could apply to Severus himself.

She couldn't _believe _him! After all they'd been through, all the times he'd stuck up for her (not that there were many, the coward), and all of the times she'd stuck up for him and _this w_as how he thanked her? By calling her the most abusive term she had ever heard used in the wizarding world? That was not on.

But, you know what? Screw him, she thought. If he thought she'd come crawling back to him after that, he was so wrong.


	7. Eden

**Keyword: Eden - this one was kind of tricky, but I managed in the end :)**

According to the dictionary, Eden has two definitions. One is that of the garden in the Bible where Adam and Eve first lived. The second is just defined as a perfect place; any place seen as being perfect, highly pleasing, or happy.

Severus Snape knew where his Eden was, but now it had dawned on him that he would never, ever be able to enter the forbidden ground that was the heart of Lily Evans.

By the age of eleven, most boys were still running away from girls under the belief that they could give them diseases, or pushing them over and insulting them because they were trying to hide the fact that they had feelings for the girl from both the girl in question, and themselves.

Severus Snape was not like these boys, as he performed neither action. Instead he realised that in fact, yes, he was in love with Lily Evans and he watched from the quiet position of best male friend as she and James Potter started their arguments that would last for years and years to come.

Severus wondered what it would be like to be Lily's boyfriend. He wondered what it'd be like if they moved in together, got married, started a family. He knew it would never happen but it was okay to wonder.

"Sev?" Lily hissed from beside him, nudging him in the ribs and making him blush. He wondered if she wondered why he was blushing. "Sev! Pay attention, would you? Seriously, you've been paying so little attention that even Professor Binns has noticed!"

Maybe he shouldn't wonder in the middle of class.


	8. Innocence

**Keyword: Innocence**

James Potter stared down at the tiny pink bundle wrapped in blue that sat in his arms and sighed in confusion.

"What's wrong honey?" Lily asked from behind him where she stood with her wand out; levitating the cradle in front of her so she could actually put it into the right place in the room without James's help and without keeling over from exhaustion. She sighed – it had been his idea to move into the new house exactly one day after she'd given birth, and now she was doing most of the hard work while he held Harry.

"He's too… innocent!" James said in frustration, still looking down at his day old son with a line between his eyebrows. "I mean, he's the son of a Marauder, he's the god-son of another Marauder, his father is best friends to _three _Marauders, his mother married a Marauder and well, she wasn't exactly an angel herself in her school days, was she?" He said this to Harry, shooting a smirk in Lily's direction. "He should look more mischievous! Not the kind of mischievous that means he's coming up with some evil plan to rule the world, but at least enough to say "I'm going to puke all over you in a second and you have no idea"!" James said in aggravation, gazing at his wife pleadingly. She breathed out heavily and walked over, plucking Harry from her husband's arms.

"James, he's _one day old!_ For goodness sake, I'm sure he'll be even worse than you were when he's grown up. And we haven't officially made Sirius godfather yet, because he hasn't even met him! Your best friend had better stop partying all night if he's going to be a godfather," she told her husband with a teasing prod on the chest, but then she frowned and turned away from James to put Harry down on the changing table so he wouldn't see the thoughtful look on her face.

She couldn't help but think of Severus when they spoke of James's best friend. She wished they hadn't argued so terribly – it would have been lovely for Harry to have a godfather from both his father and his mother. But no, it wasn't an option, especially not with the rumours that Severus had officially joined the Death Eaters and was quickly becoming Voldemort's right-hand man.


	9. Drive

**Keyword: Drive**

"No, no, please no!" Sirius laughed mockingly at the pathetic whines coming out of Severus's mouth. "Please, god, don't! God damn it, Black, this isn't funny!" Severus yelled, glaring at the Gryffindor boy who just smirked contemptuously at him and buffed Severus's prefect badge quickly on his robes, nodded at it thoughtfully, and then turned and threw it into the middle of the lake. Severus growled at him from where he was pinned against a tree.

It was seventh year and the N.E.W.T.s had finally finished earlier that afternoon with an absolutely horrendous Transfiguration theory paper which Severus had been extremely glad to finish. However, as usual, he took the question paper with him so he could go over it beside the lake to check he hadn't made too many fatal mistakes. It had been while he was doing this that Black had shown up, Pettigrew and Lupin in tow, and blasted his paper into the lake. Seconds later some invisible force had simultaneously driven him against a tree and pulled his wand out of his pocket – preventing him from doing anything to stop the three troublemakers. He would never understand what drove them to torment him so.

Now he was being forced to watch as the three, well two as Lupin was trying to be a good Prefect, took every single item out of his bag and robes and went through them carefully before throwing them into the lake. He was just dreading the moment when they would get to-

"Ah ha! Jackpot! This your diary Snivellus?" Sirius sneered, waving the small brown book in front of Severus's face as Pettigrew, and several others, jeered in the background. Severus struggled to get free without success; silently begging Black not to do what he was about to do. He could have said it out loud but he guessed nothing he did or said would make any different. His guess was proved correct as Black opened the book with a grand gesture.

"_Today, Potter finally managed to convince Lily to go to Hogsmeade with him. I don't know how the big-headed son of a banshee- _Son of a banshee? That's honestly the worst you could come up with Snivellus? Oh this stuff is comedy gold! _ I don't know how the big-headed son of a banshee actually succeeded in talking her into it, what's so different this year that actually made her say yes? I don't know, only that I'm livid._" Sirius stopped reading so he could actually breathe, he had been trying to roar with laughter and read at the same time. "Livid, were you Snivelly? Aw, was poor ickle Snapey's heart broken by Lily Evans finally realising how much of a git you are? Let's read on, shall we?" The crowd which had gathered cheered and Sirius took in a breath to continue reading when they appeared.

Potter had his arm wrapped around Lily's shoulders and was holding her close into his side, the two of them laughing at something she had just said. Even as the small crowd watched, Lily turned her face up to his with a smile and he grinned as he leaned down to kiss her. The two broke apart after a short moment, and then continued their walk around the lake shore. Lily frowned and pointed to the middle of the water where several of Severus's belongings were floating. Simultaneously, the two turned and saw the crowd surrounding Sirius, Peter and Severus.

"Padfoot, what's going on?" James called as the two approached. Severus's face twisted in anger as his insides twisted with guilt, he knew what came next.

"You're going to want to hear this, Prongs…"


	10. Breathe Again

**Keywords: Breathe Again (Note to self - double check what keyword is before uploading...) Thanks for all your reviews :D**

"Evans! Evans! Lily, wait, please! I'm sorry, alright?" James Potter yelled from the Gryffindor table. The entire population of Hogwarts had just witnessed him send a vat of onion soup down the length of the table and all over Lily because he had attempted to hex Severus and missed spectacularly. As expected, Lily had shrieked several curses at him then, overcome by the pain of onion soup in her eyes, attempted to leave the hall in an elegant fashion. So far it wasn't working.

"Sev?" She was standing in front of him now, looking very sorry for herself and as if she were about to burst into floods of tears. It was a pitiful sight; the thirteen year old girl completely drenched in soup, and furious and terribly upset at the same time. "Will you help me wash it out of my hair?" She whispered miserably, fingering the sodden waves. He nodded and stood up, following her out of the hall.

"Why're boys so mean, Sev?" She asked him in a quiet voice while he washed the soup out of her hair in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Am I mean?"

"Well, no. But you're not like them. You're nice and you understand when I don't want to talk and you've never pushed me over or been horrible to me. Promise you'll never be horrible to me?" She had looked at him with such innocent eyes and he had, naturally, promised never to hurt her. He couldn't say no to anything when she looked at him so imploringly with those beautiful green eyes.

He finished washing her long hair and dried it gently with his wand.

"Oh Sev, you're such a great friend. We'll never fight, right?" She had beamed at him and then suddenly, so quickly he almost missed it, she had kissed him on the cheek, hugged him, and then broken away and disappeared from the bathroom. Severus felt like he'd never be able to breath again with her arms around him. He touched the spot where her lips had met his cheek, then looked at his fingers with something akin to wonder.

Maybe he should thank Potter for spilling soup all over her.


	11. Memory

**Keyword: Memory**

"… They may be gone in a physical form but their souls shall live on, as will all of the many happy memories they provided us with…"

Who was this man, to be talking about Lily in such a way? How dare he speak of her as if he knew her – memories? What memories? What does he know of her? He does not deserve to speak of her. He did not deserve to know her.

I did not deserve to know her.

Severus was sitting at the base of a tall, oak tree concealed by the bushes as he listened to the sermon that the unknown minister was giving. It was a bleak, grey day and dark clouds were gathering overhead as the very small, private group of mourners came to show their respects for Lily and James Potter.

"… Lily and James Potter; may they rest in peace."

At this point, Severus couldn't take much more. He buried his face in his hands in an attempt to hide the tears that were blurring his sight and rolling rapidly down his face. He had no-one to hide them from except himself but he was so ashamed that he was capable of showing such weakness when he could be discovered at any moment. He could see Petunia on the very edge of the group of mourners, her deep pink dress standing out completely against the black of everyone else. He wondered if she even missed her sister at all.

The moment he had thought it, he regretted the words. Of course she missed her sister. Who didn't mourn the loss of the bright young witch who had once been Lily Evans? It was as if even nature missed her – no birds were singing, no insects were whirring, no animals were foraging.

He could see her coffin, could see it was about to be lowered into the ground beside her husband's. He didn't want to see it; it made the dagger in his heart twist even more. His face screwed up in agony as the heavens opened and the sky burst into tears.


	12. Insanity

**Keyword: Insanity**

"Hey! Lily! Wait up!"

"What do you want, Black?" Lily was walking ahead of him slightly with books clutched in her arms and her long red hair swinging over her shoulders. The taller boy caught up with her and slung a playful arm around her shoulders, grinning as a disgusted look appeared on her face and she shrugged him off.

"Well, I was just thinking, if you won't go out with Prongs, will you go out with me instead?" Lily stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at him with a face full of disbelief and suspicion.

"Did Potter set you up to this? I mean, I know you guys are best friends and all, but him having you rejected by me all for the sake of one date is a bit much on his part, don't you think? That didn't make much sense, but I'm just trying to say he's using you. Doesn't that hurt you Sirius?" Sirius realised she wouldn't stop unless he shut her up so he cut her off.

"Prongs didn't ask me to do anything. In fact, he doesn't even know I like you. Well, he knows I think you're hot and all."

"I don't believe you. Why can't you guys just leave me alone?" Lily scowled heavily at him, shifting slightly so her books sat in one arm and she could easily reach for her wand.

"Odd. Maybe Prongs was right. That hurts, Lily. I've never lied to you! Also, I can understand you turning Prongs down, but how could you say no to this handsome face?" He pouted at her, a wicked gleam in his eyes that made her very nervous.

"What? What was he right about?"

"Oh, right, yeah. We have a theory that Snivellus has Confunded you so you have deep, buried feelings of love for him that you don't really know about yet – consciously. Subconsciously you know which is why you hate James so much."

"Right. Well, you guys are all insane and… I'm leaving." Lily practically dived into a nearby classroom, leaving Sirius to stand there with a look of confused amusement on his face.


	13. Abuse

**Keyword: Abuse**

Severus cowered in the corner of the living room, eyes wide with fright as he watched the scene unfold before him. He couldn't help the tears that rolled down his face and plopped onto the dirty wooden floor in front of him.

"I TOLD YOU NEVER TO USE THAT HOCUS POCUS AROUND ME EVER AGAIN!" His father roared, making Severus cringe back against the wall in fear. His mother stood in front of the sink, trembling slightly. Eileen Prince had dropped a plate and pulled out her wand to repair it quickly but unfortunately she hadn't done it fast enough and Tobias Snape had crashed through the backdoor, completely drunk, just in time to see her do it.

"I dropped a plate, it scared Severus and I was just trying to fix it," she pleaded in a whisper, eyes darting anxiously towards the corner where Severus was trying to blend in with the wall. Tobias hadn't even noticed him up until that moment but he managed to follow Eileen's quick glance towards the corner and started to stumble towards his son.

"YOU'RE GOING TO TURN OUT JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER, I JUST KNOW IT. YOU'RE BOTH FREAKS – WHY THE HELL DID I MARRY YOU? I THINK I'LL JUST GET RID OF THIS THING YOU CALL MY SON BEFORE HE TURNS INTO AN EVEN BIGGER FREAK THAN HE ALREADY IS!" Tobias Snape was one of those men who, when drunk, could talk perfectly clearly (if not extremely loudly) but walked as if they were on a ship during an incredibly tempestuous storm. Severus had half a mind to go up to his father who was pitching towards him heavily and see if he would fall over if he blew on him. He didn't though; he was far too terrified.

"YOU WON'T TOUCH HIM!" His mother was suddenly standing in front of him, screeching at her husband who stared at her for a moment then grabbed her by the neck. She shrieked in terror and pulled her wand out of her pocket. There was a loud bang and Tobias was thrown backwards. This only served to make him angrier.

Severus recoiled into the wall as his father 'punished' his mother for her 'insolence'.


	14. Smile

**Keyword: Smile**

Lily beamed up at Severus as they spun around in the middle of the Great Hall. It was December, long before their O.W.L.s were due to start, and Dumbledore had quite spontaneously decided to throw a Yule Ball – to which students of all ages were invited. Lily was almost certain that Dumbledore had some kind of ulterior motive but who was she to question an occasion that gave them all the chance to let their hair down for a night?

"Thank you for honouring me with a dance, Miss Evans." Severus bowed deeply to her, a wicked grin on his face, and Lily laughed delightedly.

"Sev, I've never seen you like this before," she cried as he lead her away from the crowded dance floor and poured her a drink which she accepted gratefully.

"I think the atmosphere's getting to me," Severus replied, his voice slightly less loud now that they were seated at a quiet table away from the hustle and bustle of the dance floor.

"Well, you should let it get to you more often," Lily teased. "You actually look like a normal fifteen year old for once."

"As opposed to-" Severus was interrupted by the appearance of James Potter at Lily's elbow. Lily wasn't sure quite what made her smile up at him; perhaps the atmosphere was getting to her too, or maybe it had something to do with how sweet he'd been to her in recent weeks.

"Hey Lily," he said with a charming dimpled smile, completely ignoring Severus's presence. "You look absolutely stunning tonight. Ice blue really brings out the colour of your eyes," he complimented with a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

Lily couldn't help herself as she scanned the room to see if Sirius, Remus and Peter were watching. They weren't – Remus was dancing with Ivy Abbot on the dance floor; Peter was standing over the punch bowl with his wand out, presumably attempting to spike it; and Sirius ad disappeared, along with the witch he had been dancing with earlier. No surprises there, then.

"Well… thank you, James," Lily replied once she realised he had been waiting for a response. His first name sounded so bizarre coming out of her mouth, the shape of the word feeling quite new as she was so used to calling him by his last name.

"I don't suppose you would deign to honour me with a dance, would you?" He asked, looking and sounding surprisingly nervous and even slightly embarrassed. She wondered what had happened to the arrogant arse who had stolen her wand in September. Lily glanced at Severus, who was staring at the table with unfocused eyes, then back to James.

"One dance," she said and held up one finger to emphasise her statement. Immediately his familiar boyish grin was back and he led her onto the dance floor.

Severus couldn't help but wonder if _he _would ever be the cause of a smile that bright on Lily's face as he watched her dance closely with Potter for the rest of the night.


	15. Emotionless

**Keyword: Emotionless**

Severus was emotionless through the speeches made at their graduation ceremony. He was impervious to the tears and cheers of his classmates as they all shot sparks into the air with their wands. When everyone went around hugging each other and saying "Goodbye, for now, I'll owl you and perhaps we can meet up" he disappeared, unnoticed, into the castle and watched the festivities with no expression on his sallow face.

He'd heard that Potter was planning on proposing during the coming summer and, given that Lily said yes, they would get married early next spring, or maybe even late winter.

Perhaps they'd have a honeymoon baby and Lily, his Lily, would become round with Potter's child. That child would be the spawn of the Devil – or at least that's how Severus felt.

So after their perfect wedding – at which Black would be the perfect best man and he wouldn't even be considered for invitation – they would have a perfect honeymoon and move into a perfect house and have a perfect family. The ultimately perfect life, with magic thrown in as a brilliant extra.

Severus watched as the last two graduates remained outside and began to dance together out of sheer joy that one phase of their life had ended and they would soon begin the next. Lily's beautiful red hair flowed around them as Potter, oh how jealous he was of perfect Potter, stared into her stunning eyes.

He told himself he didn't care in the slightest, and he tried so hard to make himself believe it. But no matter what he tried to make himself feel, he still couldn't look at Lily without feeling a dagger twist in his heart.

**I wrote this whilst outside, in the sun all day. My shoulders are now a brilliant shade of pink and I feel as if I shall spontaneously combust at any moment. Lesson of the day is: Always wear suncream, no matter how stupid your country's weather is.**


	16. Caged

**Keyword: Caged**

"You did _what_?" Remus heard James roar and he sighed from the second floor of the Shrieking Shack, wondering who had done what now. He wouldn't go down to ask though, the full moon was nearly at its peak and the caged feeling was setting in as his bones began to ache. He faintly heard Sirius reply in his bass tones.

"What do you _mean _"it's just a joke"?" James screeched and Remus had to smile despite the pain. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Snivellus will tell _everyone _about Moony, if he actually comes down here and survives! Padfoot, you complete prat!" A new voice joined the arguing two.

"James, James! Snape's just left the castle! He's on his way!" The rest of Peter's squeaky sentence was drowned out as the blood began to roar in Remus's ears and he contorted in pain, letting out an inhuman howl.

James had never thrown himself down that passage so fast in his entire school life nor would he ever, he hoped, do it again. Sirius was his best mate, but he was a right idiot sometimes. James could see how it could be completely hilarious; teaching Snivellus a much needed lesson, but this was far too risky.

He was reaching the end of the tunnel now and, to his horror, he watched as Snape lowered himself into the small opening.

"Snape," he yelled, pushing himself forward, "get the hell out of here!"

"Why should I, Potter?" Snape yelled back, his entire body in the tunnel now. James collided with him just as there was a feral snarl from the other end, followed by a nervous bark. Severus's eyes widened and he attempted to peer over James's shoulder. "I will find out what you and your precious friends are hiding in here," he hissed. There was another snarl.

"Not on my watch you won't," James muttered and whipped out his wand. "_Stupefy! _Padfoot, get Moony back into the Shack!" He yelled over his shoulder, and then hoisted Snape's dead weight onto his shoulder. "I can't believe I'm saving your sorry ass, but if Evans finds out before I tell her…"


	17. Blood

**Keyword: Blood**

"Go on, Sev!"

"Yeah, go on, do it!"

"Prove you aren't a complete pansy! You said you've been wanting to try out your new spell."

"It's about time you proved how much better you are than that filthy Mudblood you used to hang out with!"

Severus stared down at the small girl lying on the ground in the forest who was gazing up at him in terror, her lip trembling. She was only third year, barely even thirteen yet and his wand shook and faltered as he pointed it at her.

"Come on, Sev, we don't have all day!"

"Hagrid'll show up any minute, knowing your luck!"

"Such a coward…"

Severus glared at Mulciber who was lounging against a tree, casually flipping his wand in the air so the sunlight gleamed on it. The other boys had their wands out now, too. Severus squared his shoulders and returned his expressionless face to stare at the small girl, whose entire frame was now shaking with fright. She saw the hesitation in his eyes, once again, and tried to scramble away backwards on her hands and knees.

"Hey, _petrificus totalus! _Filthy Mudblood," Mulciber snarled, glowering down at the girl who had frozen in place, her eyes flickering nervously between Severus and Mulciber. "Merlin, Severus, you're such a bore. Who knew you were such a cow-"

"I am not a coward!" Severus growled at him and turned to the girl, a look of set determination on his face. There would be so much blood…

"Prove it then!" Mulciber jeered.

"_S-sectum-"_

"What are you doing? Get away from her!" With a whirl of red hair, Lily Evans stormed into the clearing with her wand held in front of her like a sword. "You egoistic jerks, got nothing better to do? Pick on someone your own size!" She pointedly ignored Severus's existence.

"What're you going to do, Head Girl?" Lucius Malfoy spoke up, sneering the title as the Slytherins advanced on her with their wands out. "Pick on someone our own size, huh? Well, you and Avery are the same size, guess you've just told us to pick on you. Not so tough now, are you Evans, without your jealous boyfriend and his posse of bludger-heads?"

Lily didn't back down as he stalked slowly towards her, holding her head high and strong as she raised her wand.

"He isn't my boyfriend," she muttered, glaring. "There's a reason why I got Head Girl and you were left being a Prefect, and a bloody bad one at that, Malfoy. I can take you." Severus sighed, knowing that when Lily started talking tough; it meant she was scared out of her wits.

"What're you going to do?" Another of the Slytherins sneered as they closed in on her. "Run off to tell Hagrid? Like the oaf could even do anything to us," he said with contempt.

"Hagrid may not, but I sure can help." A quiet voice sounded from the side of the clearing and James Potter stepped out of the trees. There was a moment of awkward silence as the Slytherins peered around, waiting for the rest of the Marauders to follow. They jeered when they realised he was alone.

"Look, Evans, your precious boyfriend has come to save you!" Mulciber crooned, lifting her hair with a smirk. "Severus, don't you have anything to say? You failed with the third year; maybe someone a little closer to home will actually influence you to do something bad for once." Severus opened his mouth…

"_Stupefy!_" And promptly fell, Stunned, to the ground in a pile of black robes.

"_Petrificus totalus! _I don't need your help, Potter!"

"_Expelliarmus! Stupefy! _Well, you could have fooled me, Evans!" James yelled over his shoulder as he turned rapidly, looking to see where Malfoy had gone, with his back to Lily. Suddenly, there was a flash of purple light and she screamed, dropping to the ground with blood pouring rapidly out of a deep wound in her leg.

"Malfoy, you coward!" James roared, spinning and sending a Stunner after the Slytherin who had snuck up on Lily and was now running towards the safety of the grounds. "Bastard, sneaking up like that. On a woman too!" He muttered away to himself as he dropped to the ground beside Lily and inspected the blood gushing out of her leg. "Hospital wing," he decided and levitated her, only stopping to let the third year girl out of the Body Bind.


	18. Candy

**Keyword: Candy**

Stars twinkled in the clear night sky and Lily stared at them in annoyance, envying their freedom as they shone away without a worry. Her breath obscured them by misting up the window as she gave a sigh of infuriation, and then rolled over onto her back. She gasped in pain as the movement caused a spike of pain to rocket up her bandaged leg.

"Lily? Are you alright?" The voice came from behind her and she jumped as well as one could whilst lying in a hospital bed. She turned over clumsily and peered through the gloom in the hospital wing. When she couldn't see anyone, she frowned. She could have sworn she heard James Potter's voice.

"Who's there?" She murmured, feeling foolish as she continued to peer into the darkness.

"Can't you see me? I'm standing about half a foot away from your bed…" Yes, that was definitely James – but where was he? She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was looking on the right side of the bed… if there was a right side. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Oh right; forgot to take the Cloak off." There was laughter in James's voice and he suddenly appeared right in front of her, holding a cloak made of shining material that looked like water. "Sorry if I confused or frightened you," he said cheerfully and plopped down onto the edge of her bed – ignoring the chair that was free on the other side. "How's your leg?"

"What… what is that thing?" Lily asked in wonder, staring at the pocket where James had stowed the mysterious Cloak. "And why are you here?"

"Oh, it's an Invisibility Cloak," James replied casually, "and I'm here to see how your leg's doing. That was a nasty curse Malfoy hit you with!" He grinned at her and pulled a small bag out of his robes, peering inside it and making Lily roll her eyes at his theatrics. He reached into the bag and she watched as his arm disappeared up to his shoulder, eyes widening.

"I had no idea you were smart enough to do an Undetectable Extension charm," she commented with a slight note of awe in her voice. "How do you come to have an Invisibility Cloak?"

"Hand-me-down," James muttered and stuck his head in the bag, then emerged moments later with a triumphant "Aha!" and an armful of candy. Lily gazed at the pile, mouth drooling slightly. The nurse hadn't been allowing her much sugar in case she got over-excited and moved around too much. It had indeed been a nasty curse.

"Merlin, that's a lot of candy."

"I know. Want some?" Lily stared at him as he was completely raving mad and dived for a Sugar Quill. "They say sugar is good for healing."

"Smart ass…"

Their conversation became quieter and quieter as Severus Snape hurried away down the corridor, his plans of visiting Lily and apologising her completely dashed.


	19. Snow

**Keyword: Snow**

Harry Potter had Lily Evans's eyes. Those bright green, almond shaped orbs stared accusingly at Snape through round spectacles as the two glared at each other, one daring the other to try to even make a move to get past him.

"Potter, move, now," Snape barked, not wanting to stand in the knee-deep snow all day simply because he was too powerless to break a staring contest with a first year Gryffindor. How low he had sunk, to actually be looking out for _her _son when he should be hating him because he was _his _son. He could not help the small feeling of intense dislike that sprung up inside of him, as he took in the small boy, identical to James Potter with the exception of his eyes.

"I don't see why I should, Professor, as I'm dong no-one any harm by just standing here." Snape narrowed his eyes; this boy was most definitely the son of the infamously insolent James Potter – there was no Lily in his personality.

"I think you'll find, Potter, that you're doing yourself harm the longer you stand out here in the cold with soaking wet robes and chattering teeth. Now, move, or I will deduct an unnecessary amount of points from Gryffindor and you will be put entirely to blame. Now, I believe you have a potions essay to complete?"

Harry scowled deeply at the potions professor, and opened his mouth the come up with some rude retort, but then that Granger girl came hurrying up.

"Harry! Your robes are soaked! Come inside and let us get you dry! Excuse us, Professor Snape." She sent him a polite smile, then seized Harry by his sleeve and dragged him back into the castle, leaving Snape to stare at the empty patch of snow in front of him with confusion. Why had he agreed to try not to hate the boy?


	20. Fortitude

**Keyword: Fortitude**

"Come on, Lils! If I have the fortitude to grow back my spine – still not entirely sure how that happened – then surely you can get a small person out of your body?" James cried, half out of pain and half out of exasperation. It rapidly changed to fear as Lily glared deeply at him from the bed and squeezed his hand harder.

"DON'T YOU GO LECTURING ME!" She screamed at him, twisting his hand until he bent double in pain. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" She continued to screech nonsense until a Healer had the sense to cast a Calming Charm over her. She relaxed her grip on James's hand slightly, but continued to glare at him. He gently detached his hand from her iron grip and edged towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lily screeched. "SIRIUS!" There was the sound of footsteps and James's best friend appeared in the doorway, holding one Severus Snape by the collar of his robes. The two looked for the entire world as if they were back Hogwarts and having one of their daily infamous squabbles.

"Yes, Lily?" He asked innocently, smiling charmingly at her as she frowned at them. "How can I be of service, oh wise and wonderful wife of James Potter?"

"Make sure husband of mind does not leave this room. What's Severus doing here?" She blinked at him, her pain momentarily forgotten.

"Caught him sneaking towards your room, wand out and everything. Look what he's got on his arm," Sirius announced and struggled with Snape for a few moments before he triumphantly yanked up his left sleeve; allowing them all a clear view of the Dark Mark which was glowing on Snape's pale forearm. Silence descended over the room as everyone stared at Snape. Then Lily gave a squawk of pain, and James abandoned glaring at Snape to hurry over to her side and resume having his hand crushed.

"Get that filthy Death Eater out!" James roared, without looking away from Lily.


	21. Anomaly

**Keyword: Anomaly**

"You always were quite the anomaly, Severus, if you don't mind my saying." Albus Dumbledore steepled his fingers together and peered over his glasses at Severus, giving him the familiar feeling of being x-rayed. He shifted slightly uncomfortably in his seat and looked down at his long, pale fingers, a stark contrast against the solid black of his robes.

"How do you mean, sir?" He murmured, not looking up. He had great respect for the Headmaster, unlike his other Slytherin classmates, but the man intimidated him greatly.

"Well, it seems that you are an exception to almost every rule in the book. A Slytherin who isn't cunning, a Slytherin who doesn't spend his evenings looking up Dark spells in stolen books, a Slytherin whose best friend was in Gryffindor – a Gryffindor who would have still been his best friend had he not given into the pressure of being bullied. A Slytherin who, perhaps, is still in love with a Gryffindor."

"I'm not in love with anyone," Severus snapped, his eyes flashing as he looked up at Dumbledore sharply. "Especially not a filthy Mudblood like _her_," he hissed.

"Severus, please, such names are not necessary. Why do you deny something which is so clearly obvious?" Dumbledore stared at him until he looked away again.

"Love is for weak people," he muttered. "My mother loved my father, and that made her weak. She's dead because she loved him. I'm not weak."

"Quite on the contrary, it was your mother's love for your father which made her strong. It only killed her because he was so terrible and he didn't love her back, because he was too weak to harbour such strong, pure feelings. It is my belief that love of a good thing makes us stronger, as opposed to weaker."

"What's the point on loving someone if they'll never love you back? Wait, why did you even call me here? Surely not just to discuss my abnormal Slytherin tendencies." Severus frowned at Dumbledore, as if he were telling him off for not calling him here to tell him off.

"I would have thought it was obvious, Severus." When Severus only raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to elaborate, Dumbledore sighed. "Madam Pomfrey told me that the curse used to wound Lily Evans's leg was one of very Dark magic and, had she not taken immediate action, Miss Evans could have been in life threatening danger."

"What does any of this have to do with me?" Severus demanded.

"Mr Potter, ah, let it slip that you and several other Slytherins were involved. I called you here to enquire as to whether Mr Potter was, for once, telling the truth. Were you there when Miss Evans was injured?"

"I… Yes, sir."

"Thank you for your honesty, Severus. I can be sure, at least, that you had no intention of harming anyone, did you?" Severus stared at Dumbledore for a long moment, a war raging in his head.

"No, sir."


	22. Forest

**Keyword: Forest**

"Oh Arthur, I wish we'd had more of a chance to get to know them," Molly remarked tearfully as she leaned against her husband's shoulder and watched as Harry, Ron, Fred and George got down to de-gnoming the back garden. Harry was laughing as they watched Fred attempting to shake a gnome off his foot and Molly smiled fondly, if not slightly mournfully. Arthur kissed his wife's temple.

"We were lucky to have met them, even if it was only once. At least we can remember them, Mollywobbles. I'm sorry to think that the same can't really be said for Harry."

"Oh, Arthur! What would become of our children if that happened to us? I can't bear to think of them alone and hungry out in the cold…" Molly gasped in earnest and began to cry. Arthur patted her shoulder gently.

"Now, now, calm down," he said soothingly. "Dumbledore would never let them starve. If it came to the worst, Bill and Charlie would just have to come back and take care of the others. But it isn't going to happen, so stop worrying. Here, the boys are coming back in." Arthur gently wiped away the tears running down his wife's face and she gave him a watery smile before she turned to the stove and began to cook up some soup for lunch.

"Mr Weasley?" Harry asked quietly once everyone was occupied with getting cutlery and bowls, "Did you ever know my parents?" Arthur sighed, trying to be impervious to the innocence in those green eyes. Had Harry asked Molly that question, she would have been in tears already.

"I only met them once I'm afraid, Harry. Unfortunately it was a very short meeting, so I've no stories to tell you."

"Where did you meet them?" The boy asked curiously, setting his spoon back into his bowl of soup so as to listen more attentively.

"Molly and I ran into them, literally, in a forest in 1978."

"What were you doing in a forest, Mr Weasley? And why did you literally run into them?"

"Well, it was time for the Quidditch World Cup, which takes place every year, and James was taking Lily as a graduation gift. I'd managed to scrounge tickets for two, so we hired a babysitter and Molly and I took the day off. The World Cup is usually held in a large forest – so the stadium can't be seen, and so it's less likely for muggles to stumble across such a large magical gathering. They were running away from a group of Death Eaters – well, we all were. It was quite a riotous World Cup." Harry nodded, eyes wide and opened his mouth to speak again as Ron came barrelling down the stairs, having eaten his soup in two bites and hurried upstairs a minute later.

"Harry! Let's go play Quidditch in the orchard! You and me, versus Fred and George!"

"Can I play?" Ginny's exceptionally quiet voice piped up from the stairs where she was sitting, watching the proceedings.

"Sorry, Ginny, this game's not for girls," Ron muttered, rolled his eyes at Harry, and ran out of the house. Harry sent Ginny an apologetic smile, in return to which she turned the colour of her hair and disappeared up the stairs. They heard a door slam a moment later, then Harry sighed and followed Ron out of the house.

Arthur's cheerful smile turned into a weary frown as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had decided it would be a good idea not to mention that whilst he and Molly were chatting to James and Lily, a Death Eater by the name of Severus Snape had been watching from the gloomy shadows of the forest.


	23. Cat

**Keyword: Cat (Sorry for the shortness, I was uninspired...)**

Crookshanks prowled through the halls of Hogwarts, following the trail of the elusive rat that wasn't really a rat. It was a rather complicated situation, badly explained by the man-dog who had attempted to tell Crookshanks that the rat was not in fact a rat, but a man in the shape of a rat, like the man-dog was really a man who could change into the shape of a dog. It was ever so perplexing, even for Crookshanks's smart Half-Kneazle brain.

Suddenly, the trail became stronger and Crookshanks perked up, his whiskers twitching as he sped up.

"Damn it Peeves!" A voice suddenly squawked from a nearby door and Crookshanks had to flatten himself against the wall to avoid getting trampled as Severus Snape slammed open the door of his office and flew, bat-like, up the corridor with a murderous expression on his face. Crookshanks sniffed curiously and was mystified to notice that the smell of the rat-man was coming from the Potion teacher's office.

Inside the office, the cat was completely distracted from the task of pursuing the rat-man by a picture he had seen once before, in the boy-with-the-scar's album of moving pictures. It was one of a red-haired woman at this castle, sitting beside the vast body of water with sunlight shimmering in her hair. Crookshanks knew who this was; this was the boy-with-the-scar's dead mother, the mate of the dog-man's dead best friend, and the one who the rat-man had betrayed. Crookshanks wondered what this picture was doing inside this office and immediately trotted off with the intention of informing the dog-man of his discovery, of the picture which was sitting on the bat-like man's desk for anyone to see.


	24. Me Time

**Keywords: Me Time**

"She reject you again?" Sirius was lounging on James's bed when he stumbled into the dormitory, chucking a Quaffle up and down in the air over his chest. He didn't look over at the sound of the door slamming, nor as James stomped into the middle of the room and turned the fire down with his wand.

"No, Padfoot, she said yes, we snogged and then Hagrid skipped into the room wearing a fucking tutu and dancing around like a fairy." James threw himself down onto Sirius's bed, a heavy scowl on his face.

"Your sarcasm and vulgar language hurt; I hope you know that." Sirius rolled off James's bed and went over and nudged his best friend in the ribs.

"Fuck off."

"You're the one on my bed, mate. I know you want me, and all, but I think a little more work on Evans is required before we tear the hearts of the Hogwarts girls in two by declaring we're gay. Now, stop sulking and get your ass off my bed!"

"Merlin's balls, I'm not sulking, nor am I gay. Sorry if I'm breaking your heart, mate. But what's the point in working on Evans, when she's already rejected me Merlin knows how many times. Like, a dozen times a year for the past four years?"

"Something like that. Did she tell you why she said no this time?" James stood up and rummaged in his trunk for a towel and his pyjamas. Finding them both at the bottom, he pulled them out triumphantly.

"Nope, not a word except for the rejection. She was with Snivellus at the time, I still reckon he's Confunded her." James dove back into his trunk, going as far as to stick his head in it in an attempt to find what he was looking for. Eventually he pulled out a small, purple bottle and looked at it with a grin.

"What the fuck is that?"

"My next door neighbour gave it to me for Christmas, it's bubble bath or something. I only accepted it because-"

"Because she's really hot and clearly wants to fuck your brains out?"

"Duh."

"So what are you going to use bubble bath for? Gonna put it in Snivellus's shoes?"

"Nah, I'm using it myself. Evans's rejection stung more than usual this time, I could do with some me time."

"You sure you're not gay, Prongs?"


	25. Trouble Lurking

**Keywords: Trouble Lurking**

Remus was wandering around Hogwarts, trying to find Sirius or James whilst simultaneously scanning the hallways with a very nervous expression clear on his face. When someone clapped a hand down on his shoulder, he jumped a foot in the air and emitted a somewhat girly shriek. Sirius chuckled heartily as Remus scowled at him.

"Nice manly scream there, Moony. Why're you walking around looking as though Davina Bulstrode's been stalking you, and is hiding round the corner planning to jump you? If she is, thank Merlin she's moved on from me, that was bloody scary that was." Sirius shuddered dramatically.

"No, no. She's still madly in love with your devilishly good-looks and astounding charm," Remus commented dryly. "You know how nervous I get around this time. I feel like trouble is just lurking around the corner." The two started walking, Sirius leading the way to the Great Hall with a bounce in his step.

"Do you want me to look around corners and make sure there's nothing there?" He teased and Remus flushed as Sirius playfully stuck his head around the corner, and then froze.

"Sirius? What's wrong?" Remus peered over his friend's dark head and frowned at what he saw. Severus Snape and Lily Evans were locked in a tight hug, Lily's head tucked tightly against Severus's shoulder. Severus wasn't wearing his robes and Remus could see a patch of wetness on his shirt, which was growing larger even as he stroked Lily's flaming red hair tenderly and whispered in her ear. She was crying, and crying hard.

"_Subausculto," _Sirius whispered, pointing his wand at the pair. Suddenly Remus could hear every word and he raised an eyebrow at Sirius who simply grinned cheekily and shrugged.

"Please tell me what happened, Lils?" Severus was murmuring over and over again to Lily, whose shoulders were shaking with the force of her sobs. "Come on, it's just a few words." There was a long moment of silence before she finally started mumbling into his shoulder quickly.

"Mum's in hospital, they say it's cancer, and I was crying on Delilah's shoulder in the Great Hall when Potter came over in all his arrogant glory and told me he'd never hurt me the way whatever prat had who was making me cry, and so I should stop crying over something so insignificant now and go out with him! Then when I said no, he implied it was you who had made me cry and waltzed away," she gasped into his shoulder. Sirius frowned and removed the spell, seeing Severus's smug expression.

"That snake has something coming to him," Sirius muttered and disappeared.


	26. Never Cry

**Keyword: Never Cry**

"Narcissa? Narcissa? Would you shut this infernal child up? I am trying to work, and I am being distracted by my own son crying. Malfoys should never cry," Lucius yelled over his shoulder and out of the door. Narcissa had been chatting to Bellatrix in the drawing room, safe in the knowledge that Dobby would care for Draco; but now they had run out of milk.

"Narcissa!" Lucius shrieked and Bellatrix made a little shoo-ing motion to her sister, and then followed after her to see her nephew.

"One day you will become as great as your aunt Bella," Lucius faintly heard her coo and he rolled his eyes in disgust. "Then, you will be the Dark Lord's right-hand man, and replace that abominable traitor Snape." The doorbell suddenly chimed, cutting off the rest of Bellatrix's sentence which was sure to be full of insults directed at Severus.

"Well, speak of the Devil!" Clearly Bellatrix had answered the door, as her sarcastic tones rang out through the house. "Lucius! You have a visitor!" She screamed in his direction a few moments later and Lucius sighed, arranging the papers on his desk to make it look like he hadn't simply been playing Wizard Hangman with himself. A moment later, Severus appeared at the doorway of his study, looking pale and distraught. Lucius sighed.

"What is it, Severus?" He groaned, turning back to the stack of paper on his desk.

"He's going after them," Severus replied quietly, his lips barely moving as he stared at the back of Lucius's head with unfocused eyes. "The Dark Lord is going to murder the Potters."


	27. Poison

**Keyword: Poison**

Sirius was pacing angrily in his cell when they brought her in. He watched with emotionless eyes as the Dementors paraded his obnoxious cousin past the bars of his prison. He'd heard what had happened – they stuffed the mattresses with Daily Prophets and his had recently been redone, filled with newspapers from recent times. The story of his "crime" no longer held the front pages; now it was all about how Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters had tortured the Longbottoms into insanity. Their son was the same age as Harry would be now.

"Well hello, cousin!" Bellatrix had shrieked at him, laughing maniacally. "How do you like your new home, traitor? Funny, isn't it, how you're not only a traitor to your family, but to your best friend as well!" Sirius was sure that the only reason the Dementors had stopped was because they could feel the misery and anger radiating off him.

"I betrayed no one!" He shouted at her. I have no family to betray – I never belonged to that bloody house. And I never betrayed James – I never would! It was that filthy rat; Pettigrew! I know he's not dead, I swear he isn't! And when I get out of here, I'll find him, and I'll kill him!"

"You're going mad already. How're you going to kill him, oh dear Sirius?" Bellatrix sneered. "Poison? You seem like the cowardly type to revert to poison. I mean, you're cowardly enough to give up the position of your best friend, to save yourself." Sirius launched himself against the door of his prison, his hands reaching out through the bars. Oh, if only he could get a metre closer and wrap his hands around her neck…

"If it weren't for him; Lily and James would still be alive!" Sirius roared as the Dementors began to lead her away.

"I believe you mean; if it weren't for me," Bellatrix sang over her shoulder. "I have a message from Snape by the way; he says you're finally where you belong." Sirius threw himself against the bars with renewed vigour as she skipped to her cell, laughing proudly all the way.


	28. Anguish

**Keyword: Anguish**

"Lily? Lily, what's wrong?" Severus dropped to his knees so he could attempt to comfort the small girl who had a look of great anguish on her delicate features. She was curled up in the far corner of the library, playing with her gold and red tie, and determinedly avoiding his gaze. Break had just begun and, instead of meeting outside Transfiguration like they had agreed, Lily hadn't been there when he arrived. He asked around and several people said they had seen her running to the library crying. He had followed immediately.

"Lily?" He prodded when she didn't answer and she sniffed, and then finally looked up at him with watery green eyes.

"It's not fair!" She moaned, throwing herself at him in a hug that was more like a tackle. "We should be in the same House, Sev! Why'd that Hat separate us? We're best friends, we look after each other. Surely we should be in the same House." Severus, knocked off balance by the sudden weight of his friend, steadied himself against a bookcase and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.

"Well… we may be best friends but we're different people, Lils. We have different personalities, so we're in different Houses. Is that the only thing bothering you? We can still be best friends; we'll just have to spend a bit less time together." Lily pulled away from his hug and scowled at him, her expression fierce for an eleven year old.

"James Potter is an arse," she declared.


	29. Curious

**Keyword: Curious**

Severus stood in the square of Grimmauld Place, gazing at the wall between houses with trepidation. This was the first time he'd returned since the end of spring and it was now late July, just a few days before the chase of Harry Potter was planned. As he watched, the defeated building that was Number 12 Grimmauld Place forced itself into the non-existent space between the numbers eleven and thirteen. He loitered outside for a few moments, dreading whatever had been set up inside, and then cast a powerful shielding spell upon himself and walked slowly and proudly up the stairs.

To Severus's great surprise, no curses awaited him. He frowned to himself, guessing that they had perhaps not got around to it yet – though he was sure they would soon. It was just as well he had come when he had.

Severus gave the house a thorough searching and, despite having searched every room in the house, did not even find what the Dark Lord had sent him for in the room of Regulus Black. As he exited the room, closing the door behind him and glancing at the deep scratches in the door with obvious annoyance – what an unnecessary precaution to have a Thestral-like creature guarding the door, one which sprang at him when he touched the door handle, when there wasn't even anything in the room.

His curiosity was suddenly peaked as he stood on the landing, staring at the door of Sirius Black's bedroom. He went in quietly, coughing slightly against the thick dust that had coated everything in the room. The room was typically decorated, for Black, with Gryffindor posters and pictures of muggle girls in bikinis plastering the walls. The only wizarding photograph in the room was of the infamous four, arm in arm and laughing out of the picture at him. Severus sneered at them and went to search the room, finding nothing interesting until he reached the last drawer of the dresser. In it, at the bottom of the drawer, there was a letter from none other than Lily herself. Severus recognised her writing and sat down to read it, clutching the photograph he had found with it tightly in his other hand.

By the end of the letter, Severus had tears pouring down his face. He tucked the second page; containing Lily's love and signature, and then studied the photo. Lily was standing in the background as a small black-haired baby, presumably Harry, rode around on a toy broomstick as James chased him around. Snape gazed at Lily, the tears flowing faster, and then ripped the photo in half so he had a picture of Lily, and a picture of Harry and James. He threw the one containing the boys away and left the house hurriedly, clutching the photograph of a laughing Lily tightly in his hand.


	30. Rain

**Keyword: Rain**

"Oh, James, look! He's about to go to his first Potions lesson!" Lily peered down at Harry, watching him closely as he waited nervously in the corridor. "I hope Sev isn't too harsh on him."

"If Snivellus does anything to hurt our son I will personally murder him when he finally gets here – yes, Lily, he would die twice. He will not hurt Harry!" James defended at his wife's eye roll. Lily sighed and shook her head, leaning back against his chest as they watched Harry go slowly into the classroom.

"I know dear, I know," Lily sighed as James raged his way through the lesson. "It could have been worse. Sev could have disagreed with Dumbledore and actually be really tough on Harry."

"Would you please stop calling him that?" James grumbled.

"What - Harry? You picked the name out!" Lily was perfectly aware of what he was talking about but she wanted him to admit how insecure he was, it was always funny.

"You know perfectly aware that I'm talking about darling _Severus! _I thought you guys had fallen out, never to be friends again? What happened to the massive argument?" Lily rolled her eyes again, watching as Harry made his way up to his dorm.

"James, are you jealous?" She teased.

"No."

"Oh, stop pouting. You're such a child. Speaking of children, our poor baby! He must be so scared, it's such a big school and he's learnt so many things about himself and his past recently… It's far too much, he's only eleven!" Lily was starting to work herself up into a state. James smoothed down her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Sssshhhhh…" he whispered. As she started to cry, rain began to fall. Harry stared out of his dormitory window, watching the rain with fascination as his parents watched from above.


	31. Defile

**Keyword: Defile**

The party carried on into the early hours of the morning after the Quidditch match and the Gryffindors had made quite sure that everyone knew of their victory until they were told – quite firmly – to shut up. Severus hadn't particularly cared about his House losing again, but he had wanted to talk to Lily. She had looked so happy when they won, but he noticed that her smile was directed at James. He knew she'd never smile at him again anyway, not after the argument last year. Now he was just wandering the corridors alone, not wanting to go back to the common room and the angry, sulking Slytherins.

"Sirius… Sirius, no… Stop!" Severus's head snapped up as he suddenly heard Lily's voice. "Sirius, please stop, you're drunk." As he dropped his hand into his pocket, Severus sped up in an attempt to get to Lily and help her faster. He really didn't want to think about it but it sounded like Sirius was… abusing her.

"Aw come on, Lils." Severus heard Sirius slur and his blood began to boil as he sped up. "I'm just having a little fun – it's not like I'm gonna defile your innocent little virgin status. I'm leaving that 'specially for James to do. But he can't know I'm doing this, he'd get angry. Ow! Hey what was that for?" There was the sound of a second slap and Sirius grunted in pain.

"Sirius, please just leave me alone," Lily gasped as Severus turned the final corner in time to see Sirius shove Lily up against a wall. "Please! You're drunk, and you're hurting me! You're not acting like-" Lily's words were suddenly cut off as Sirius kissed her harshly. Severus was just about to storm over and curse Sirius into oblivion when a new voice entered the hallway.

"What the hell? Padfoot, get away from her!" James Potter roared, gaping at his best friend. Remus and Peter were right behind him and as one; they stormed towards Lily and Sirius and pulled a confused Sirius off Lily. Remus and Peter dragged Sirius away out of sight, presumably to talk some sense into him. Severus watched dejectedly as Lily threw herself into James's arms.


	32. Never Look Back

**Keywords: Never Look Back**

Severus took a deep breath, resting his hand on the wall for some courage as he stared at the huge iron gates blocking him from the manor which was reported as being used as the Dark Lord's base.

"Come on, Severus. You can do this," Severus muttered to himself, feeling as if there were Hippogriffs stampeding in his stomach. "It's just another job interview… Even if this one is a life-long job…" He took his hand off the wall and began to pace.

He had no idea what had made him come here. Maybe it was the pressure from his fellow Slytherin ex-classmates. Maybe it was going home and seeing that, once again, there was nothing to eat. Maybe it was the wedding invitation that had been attached to the leg of the owl which had crashed into his window that morning.

_**You are cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of**_

_**James Potter**_

_**And**_

_**Lily Evans**_

Graduation had been less than a year ago, and already they were getting married. When he had read the invitation Severus had wondered if this was from Lily as an attempt to rebuild their friendship, or from James as if to say "Ha! Look who got her in the end!" He felt the second option was more likely – stupid Gryffindors.

So he had come to Malfoy Manor with the intent of joining the Death Eaters. Maybe this would help him get over Lily. Plus, surely the darker side was the more powerful side?

"Come on now, Severus," he muttered to himself again. "Just go in and never look back. Just do as Lily did – never look back. And stop telling yourself to do as a Mudblood did because it's rather inappropriate here, of all places." Severus rolled his eyes at his mutterings and stepped towards the gates.


	33. Provoke

**Keyword: Provoke**

Peter glanced up from his book at the sounds of a scuffle outside and his small, beady eyes widened as he recognised the yelling voices. He and Remus dropped their books at the same time and practically dived through the portrait hole to find Sirius and James being held back from an angry Severus by four Gryffindor girls – one of which was clearly Lily Evans. Severus himself was fighting against a large Gryffindor who Peter couldn't name but recognised from his position as a Beater on the team.

"Let me go!" James was bellowing. "I'll kill him – the slimy git! How dare he say such things about Lily and then come up here expecting her to forgive him! How dare he!" Remus and Peter shared a look and marched forwards, Peter grabbing James and Remus grabbing Sirius who was struggling equally hard to get at Severus. Between the six of them, they managed to get the struggling boys into the common room where they all collapsed on the couch. Remus disappeared to – presumably - thank the Gryffindor who had been holding Severus back.

"What was that all about?" Peter exclaimed after a long moment of silence. James just grunted and pulled Lily onto his lap so he could bury his face in her long red hair. She sighed softly and started running her fingers through his hair whilst silently sending Peter an apologetic look. Peter shrugged and slouched in his seat.

It had been just under two years since the 'Mudblood' incident and James had pretty much behaved himself since then – what could Severus have possibly said to provoke him, and Sirius, in such a manner?


	34. Mechanical

**Keyword: Mechanical**

"Severus, it's time to go."

"No…" he moaned softly, not opening his eyes. He felt as if he'd been transported back to his schooldays and his mother was waking him up – "No…" being his mechanical response that early in the morning. He knew that wasn't what had happened, though.

"Come on, we're all waiting…"

"No… I have to tell him…"

"No you don't. Just come with me and everything will be alright." Severus peered out through one eyelid and immediately wished he hadn't. It was as he feared – he was floating above his own dead, cold body watching Harry Potter kneel by his side, staring at him. The boy was holding a flask full of memory as tightly as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did.

"I need to tell him… That it's not his fault… That I'm sorry…" Severus whispered hoarsely, tearing his eyes away from the scene to look at the spectral figure of his mother who had been floating beside him for several minutes now and was beginning to look impatient – though she was trying to hide it.

"He'll know, Severus, when he sees the memory. Now come, please. I will not have my son wandering the Earth as an imprint of a departed soul for the rest of eternity." Severus had to fight a smile, despite the severity of the situation. Only his mother would taunt him in such a way.

"I've missed you," he whispered and a sudden clenching in his gut made him wonder if spectres could cry.

"Yes, yes, I've missed you too. Come on now, everyone's waiting." When Severus glanced down at the scene once more, Harry was gone and his body was lying abandoned on the floor. He looked back to his mother.

"Even Lily?" He breathed.

"Especially Lily." She moved towards him and made a 'shoo' motion with her hands so as to get him moving. With a sigh, he glanced back once more, and then let go so he could follow his mother.

"I'd steer clear of James and Sirius though, for now. They're still holding a vendetta against you…"


	35. Hold My Hand

**Keywords: Hold My Hand**

"I'm scared, James," Lily murmured to her husband as they walked through the halls of Hogwarts, following the route to the Headmaster's office.

"There's no need to be," James replied in a confident whisper as he bounced along beside her. "I'm sure Dumbledore's just going to tell us he's throwing a spontaneous congratulations party. Sure we found out you were pregnant nearly eight months ago but you know he'll take anything as an excuse to hold a party," James smiled down at her but Lily was not impressed – she could tell by the way he kept fiddling with his hair that he was just as concerned as she was. They lived in dark times.

"Coconut ice," Lily muttered to the ugly stone gargoyle that had been guarding the entrance for as long as Hogwarts had been a school. There was a momentary pause and then the familiar sound of stone grating against stone as the gargoyle moved to allow them past. Lily stopped James before he bolted up the staircase and into the office.

"Hold my hand?" She asked and he looked at her for a long time. They were an affectionate couple and people did sometimes complain that they were too affectionate, but Lily usually just did what she wanted – she never asked. James reached out and silently twined his fingers through hers having finally realised just how scared she was.

The two walked into the office together to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, his expression grim. On the other side of the desk were several members of the Order including Sirius, Remus, Frank, and Alice who was resting her hand on her stomach and looking about as scared as Lily felt.

"What's going on, Dumbledore?" James demanded loudly and Dumbledore lifted his head to stare at the dark-haired man in front of him. There were two expressions in his face – expressions that were completely and utterly contradictory. It was impressive they were even on his face at the same time. Albus Dumbledore looked wholly defeated, and yet at the same time his eyes held the fire that meant he was prepared to fight no matter the cost.

"There has been… a prophecy," he announced and the room fell silent. "It was told to me by Sybil Trelawney and it concerns the Dark Lord… and the boy who has the power to defeat him." The tension in the room could have been cut by a knife. "The boy who has the power to defeat him could be two people, as of this moment… The child of Frank and Alice Longbottom… Or the child of Lily and James Potter."

The silence in the room was deafening for several minutes until all hell broke loose. Dumbledore waved his hands for silence.

"It is grim, I know," he conceded and then looked Lily right in the eye. "The telling of the prophecy was overheard by Severus Snape."


	36. Precious Treasure

**Keywords: Precious Treasure**

"What are we going to do?"

"More importantly; what's You Know Who going to do?"

"I can't believe this. I thought it'd be safer here!"

"I always knew that boy would cause trouble."

"Slimy git."

"What did the prophecy actually say? Maybe it could be referring to someone else?"

"Are we going to go after He Who Must Not Be Named?"

"That's madness!"

"If you'd all quit your jabbering, maybe we could actually come up with some semblance of a plan," Moody roared over the hubbub and the room fell silent, though Peter squeaked a little bit. Moody glared at him, never having liked the ratty little man. "Albus?"

"We shall not do anything," Dumbledore said quietly and waited for the uproar to subside before he stood and began to pace behind his desk. "We shall not do anything that might allow Voldemort-" There was a collective shiver in the room, "-to realise that we know he will be trying to find the Longbottoms or the Potters. It is my theory that he will only consent to choose one family due to the fact that the prophecy states that the boy will be marked as Voldemort's equal by Voldemort himself – thus putting the other boy out of the question. However, as we cannot possibly know who he will mark as his equal, we will give both families the highest measures of protection we can possibly give."

"Are we going to have to leave our homes, Albus?" Alice questioned timidly from Frank's side. Dumbledore turned to regard her own his glasses, pausing in his pacing.

"I'm afraid so, my dear Alice. I hope you won't mind that I've already chosen two safe houses which no one yet knows the location of, besides myself of course. At some point in the next few days I will ask you to choose a Secret Keeper and once you have done so you may move into your new homes safe in the knowledge that the Fidelius Charm has begun to operate. I give you my humblest of apologies for the inconveniences this is causing, especially when you are both so close to having your sons. I just hope you know that you and your family will be protected like the most precious of treasures."

There were a few long moments of silence before the group started breaking up, groups of twos and threes disappearing down the stairs and returning to their homes. Lily and James were the last to leave and Lily couldn't help but notice the way Dumbledore was watching them as if he knew something no one else did.


	37. Eyes

**Keyword: Eyes**

Severus followed Dumbledore through the series of traps and obstacles that had been set up to protect the Philosopher's stone, secretly fearing what they would find through the flames. He couldn't help the slight feeling of awe that came to him as he watched Dumbledore cast the various enchanted barriers aside as if they were the simplest charms in the world. When they reached the room containing McGonagall's giant chess set, there was a small cry from the corner of the chamber and Severus peered into the darkness to make out the shock of red hair that belonged to Ron Weasley, close to the bushy brown head that would forever be identified as Hermione Granger.

"Albus," he heard Minerva whisper from behind him but the Headmaster was already moving quickly towards the first years who were huddled together. Severus could tell from his position across the room that Ron was unconscious – presumably to do with the completed chess match and the debris lying everywhere.

"Professor, you must hurry! There wasn't enough potion for both of us to go through so I told Harry I'd come back here and look after Ron and I left because I didn't want to watch him go through alone!" Hermione cried and Dumbledore nodded in understanding.

"Minerva, would you please take Mr Weasley and Miss Granger up to the Hospital Wing and have Poppy check over them? Severus, please follow me." Minerva nodded stiffly and leant down to talk to Hermione who nodded and stood up shakily. Dumbledore hurried into the next chamber and, after a few moments of silent spell casting, the flames disappeared to show the blistered form of Quirinus Quirrell on top of the small, prone form of one Harry Potter.

"Stupefy!" The shout came from both men and Dumbledore turned to Severus, their eyes meeting briefly. Severus moved quickly over to the small boy as Dumbledore went to inspect what was left of Quirrell, frowning down at the body.

"Potter?" Severus mutters, unsure of exactly how to approach the situation. With his eyes closed, Harry looks exactly like James and Severus couldn't suppress the surge of hate that rose up in him suddenly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, dropping to the small boy's side. "Damn it, Potter, open your eyes," he muttered. He somehow felt that, if he saw those famous emerald eyes, he'd be saving Lily rather than her son which was something he would find easier to do. Instinct finally kicked in and lead him to run a quick diagnosis spell.

"Headmaster," he called softly. "I suggest that Potter is taken to the Hospital Wing immediately." He looked up to find Dumbledore watching him with a slight smile playing on his face.

"Severus, I'd almost think you care for the boy," he said softly, rising from beside Quirrell's body and moving stately towards them. "I will see to it that he is put in Poppy's care, though could you please send a letter to Nicolas Flamel? There is a discussion he and I need to have rather urgently," Dumbledore murmured as he stooped to pick up the Philosopher's Stone from the ground where it had rolled from Harry's pocket.


	38. Abandoned

**Keyword: Abandoned**

"Harry! Harry!" He struggled to hold onto Quirrell's face, knowing that he had to or the consequences would be severe.

"Harry! Harry! Hold on, Harry! You're so strong!" There were voices in his head shouting encouragement at him without abandon and, oddly enough due to the current circumstances; a small smile came to his face. He recognised them, but he would need a little more encouragement to be able to put a name to the voices.

"That's my boy, just hold on for a little bit longer!" Harry smiled again in his half-conscious state, despite the blistering pain in his head and the tossing feeling of fear in his stomach. What if this effort wasn't good enough? What if he died, without managing to stop Quirrell and Voldemort?

"Oh no, Harry, don't think like that!" Harry felt a gloried sense that he was flying when he finally worked out where he'd heard the voices before. The man was his father, James, and he'd heard him shouting for his mother to take him and run. The woman was his mother, Lily, who'd he heard screaming, and putting herself in front of him, taking the curse that would have taken his life. It was still a recurring nightmare.

"Harry, you only need to keep this up for a few more minutes – help is on its way." The strong voice of his father soothed him and he gripped harder with his hands, ignoring the pain in his head as it increased and the sounds of Quirrell's screams echoing around the chamber.

"Oh Harry. We're so proud of you," Lily sighed softly in his head and the feeling of flying presented itself again, alongside a warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach.

_Can I let go now? _He thought, and his head was almost overwhelmed by both pain and the love his parents sent. _I abandoned Ron and Hermione... Please don't leave..._

"Yes, you've done your job. Help is here. That's my boy, we understand. Of course we won't leave you..." Harry drifted into full unconsciousness, though not until after he heard his father exclaim, "What is the snake doing here? Wait, don't you touch my son, Snivellus!" And then his mother's quiet reply,

"Now, James, hush. We don't want to disturb Harry."


	39. Dream

**Keyword: Dream**

When Severus slept, he usually took a Dreamless Sleep potion before he retired as he couldn't stand to see the images of the people he had loved the most who were now dead – even though there were only two images. One was of his mother, and in it she was fighting with his father before he struck her, and the second was of Lily Evans and the last night he had seen her before she died.

However, a week before the Battle of Hogwarts Severus found that he was having a rather strong dream and, he realised later, it must have been awfully strong in the first place to get through the barrier the potion placed around his mind.

"_Severus, what are you doing here?" Lily asked and Severus looked around to find himself on the doorstep of the cottage in Godric's Hollow. There had been noises of laughter and playing coming from the living room just a minute ago but now James was standing protectively in front of his wife, wand thrust out in front of him and Harry was gurgling to himself in the cosy room to the left. Severus suddenly remembered why it had been a bad idea to come here and wondered what in the name of Merlin he was doing on the doorstep of the Potters. And how had he even gotten here? Surely the Fidelius charm… Ah, right. Pettigrew had betrayed them just yesterday._

"_Get away from my house, you filthy piece of scum, before I curse you to oblivion," James hissed menacingly and Severus put his hands up in front of him to show that he came in peace and wished not to leave in pieces. Neither of them were questioning how he had found them and he felt a surge of worry – was Lily thinking straight? Of course she was, surely she was just waiting for him to leave before she hurried to talk to Dumbledore and get them relocated. Severus relaxed slightly but James was still gesturing for Severus to leave now. A spell grazed the side of his face when he hesitated._

"_I'm sorry…" he whispered and turned and disappeared down the path, turning into nothingness a moment later._

_The dream changed to a scene five days later when he, Dumbledore and McGonagall had been working their way through the wreckage to see what remained. Severus had entered the bedroom upstairs, or what was left of it, with a strong sense of dread. They had only found James downstairs – surely Lily would have been protecting her son? He slowly levitated a large piece of rubble aside and fought the urge to vomit as it revealed the once glowing figure of one Lily Evans. When he noticed that her eyes were still open and, seemingly fixed on him, he moaned and ducked into the hallway._

"_Albus… Minerva… I've found her," he called weakly._

Severus woke with a shudder and made a note to himself saying that he would make the dosage stronger next time.


	40. Black and Blue

**Keywords: Black and Blue**

"I've been waiting for you, Snivellus." Snape recoiled and fell over as he tried to look up whilst drawing his wand at the same time. Sirius allowed a lazy smirk to cross his face as he looked at the fallen teenager, scrabbling around blindly on the ground for his wand whilst trying to watch Sirius at the same time. Unknown to him, Peter had stolen his wand in his Animagus form and was presumably dumping it somewhere where Snape would never think to look for it.

"What do you want, Black?" Snape spat, scrambling backwards when Sirius took a menacing step towards him. "I haven't done anything to you or Potter or Lily recently. Why come looking for me?" Sirius wasn't looking at Snape, but was rather eyeing his wand in a way that made Snape quite nervous.

"I wasn't looking for you, Snivellus," Sirius replied as if he were speaking to a small child who had asked some sort of obvious question. "I was waiting for some sort of entertainment to come along and you came before a hot girl showed up so, much to your misfortune, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or rather, in my opinion, the right place at the right time. Congratulations on your punctuality."

"So, what, you're just going to beat me because you are bored?" Snape asked, not too surprised. Sirius usually made a habit of bullying people when he was bored – mainly Snape, though he'd not been doing it much recently.

"Pretty much, yes. I'm also here on the behalf of James who wanted to make sure that you were getting a regular beating just to make sure you're always sorry for everything you've said to Lily, thought about Lily and felt about Lily. His exact words were: "Remember, hex him until he's black and blue all over". This is me delivering that message." Sirius sent a sardonic smirk in Snape's direction and then raised his wand.


	41. Teamwork

**Keyword: Teamwork**

There were various mutters of confusion and alarm as everyone watched Harry Potter's broom throw him about in mid-air – perilously high above the ground. Everyone was watching the boy with wide, scared eyes, not wanting to cast any spells to stop the broom out of fear that Harry would fall. Severus was no exception to this; his eyes were glued to Potter but they had been for longer than everyone else's – since he heard what Quirrell was muttering and started to mutter a counter-curse himself.

Severus was rather irritated by this untimely distraction of Potter nearly being thrown to his death as Slytherin had been doing some rather impressive teamwork that he wanted to keep paying attention to but, alas, he had promised to watch over Lily's son as if his own life depended on it. A small twinge of guilt twisted in his stomach as he wondered what would happen if he wasn't sitting here, muttering the counter-curse and saving Potter's life? What would happen if he just stopped and allowed Potter to fall? He knew there was no need to question it. Dumbledore or one of the other teachers would cast a Cushioning charm long before the boy hit the ground.

Suddenly, Quirrell stopped his muttering and Severus sniffed in disdain and then his eyes widened in alarm as he noticed why Quirrell had stopped. There was a small bonfire taking place on the hem of his robes and Quirrell had had to throw himself away from Severus through fear of catching fire himself.

Severus began to douse the flames and noticed that, in the spirit of true teamwork, Hermione Granger was just making her way back to her seat and nodding to Ron as if to say: "Yes, I set fire to the wrong person's robes and only saved the third part of our group's life because I distracted the person who was actually trying to kill him".

The Potions professor gave a weary sigh and wondered exactly what he had signed himself up for.


	42. Standing Still

**Disclaimed: The quotes in italics are the invention of J.K. Rowling. I own nothing.**

**Keywords: Standing Still**

James Potter wasn't usually one to be easily defeated but there were three things where he would give up without an argument. The first was if Sirius told him he was taking it too far. If it was Sirius saying that, then he'd definitely gone too far. The second was if Dumbledore told him to stop doing something because, let's face it, the man can be bloody scary when he wants to be. And the third thing he'd give up without an argument? Well, if Lily was really upset about something he was doing, he'd stop. With a few teasing remarks of course.

"_You're as bad as he is_," Lily yelled at him and he had to fight to keep the wince down, had to fight to hide how much it hurt him. So he replied in his usual manner, his offended tone to keep everyone from seeing that, yes, it had really hurt him when she said that. He refused to be compared to that snake.

"_What?"_ He yelped, "_I'd NEVER called you a – you-know-what!"_ And then she had lectured him and his insides had twisted because, did she really think that about him? Recently he'd thought she was beginning to warm up to her, that perhaps they could even be friends. He'd settle for being friends with her, if he couldn't go out with her, because anything was better than the rollercoaster of a relationship (if it could even be called a relationship) that they had going on now.

And so she'd lectured him, and then left him standing still, staring after her with so many thoughts whirling about in his head as he attempted to keep his cool. He wondered if they noticed that he hadn't fought for her to stay, hadn't fought for her to take it all back. He didn't fight her because he loved her, and he hated seeing her unhappy. So he would take out his anger on Snivellus whenever she wasn't around because he hated how they were friends, and he hated how Lily hadn't been so angry with the snake for calling her that… that word. He'd take out her anger for her, he decided, and maybe one day she would be grateful.


	43. Dying

**Keyword: Dying**

Conscious of his gaping mouth, Remus stood and began to pace in the confines of the Shrieking Shack. A very ragged Sirius was sitting on the threadbare cover on the bed watching him as he marched up and down in front of one of the partially boarded up windows.

"Sirius, you can understand how hard this is for me to believe," he mumbled, his brows creased in thought as he continued his walking. Sirius looked rather like he was watching a tennis match as his head flicked from side to side, watching his old best friend. "I mean, obviously it's true – I saw Peter on the map with my own eyes – but it's been thirteen years of me thinking that one of my two best friends still living is a traitor and a murderer when it's really the other one. I can't exactly turn around and say: "Oh, sorry Sirius, I believe you didn't betray Lily and James and kill Peter." I need some time to absorb all this."

"I know, I know," Sirius muttered, burying his filthy head in his equally grimy hands as his face screwed up in annoyance. "I just wish I'd had time to talk to someone, anyone, before they threw me in Azkaban without a bloody trial. Do you know how I kept myself sane in there, whilst I was listening to the screams and sobs and cries of the other inmates?" Sirius was the one pacing now, with Remus watching him warily from beside the window.

"How?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to disturb the already upset man.

"All I thought about for _thirteen _years is how I'm going to have my revenge on that traitor we used to call our friend. Oh, Moony. I've been _dying _to get my hands on him since the night Lily and James…" At that point Sirius seemed to choke on his words and the two fell silent, each reflecting on the ratty man they had thought they knew.


	44. Two Roads

**A.N: Usually I'm one who just replies to reviews but I've lost track of who I've replied to and who I haven't so I'll say it here. Thank you so so so so so so much to everyone who reviews, especially yellow 14 who has reviewed pretty much every chapter. It means so much to me and I wish I had time to reply to all of you but I don't, and some of you aren't signed in anyway so I can't! Once again, thank you so much - it means a lot :) **

**Keywords: Two Roads**

In the town of Cokeworth, there are two roads that run parallel to each other from one end of the town to the other. They're not the only two roads; of course, as it's a large town, but the thing about these roads is that they both only have houses on one side of the road. Due to this oddity the occupants in these lines of houses can stare at each other with nothing but a long stretch of grass to block their way. What makes the houses even more peculiar is that, though they are mirror images of each other, they are completely different. The line of houses which has its back to the river is immaculate with emerald green lawns, blooming flower beds and pristine house fronts whilst the line facing the river is full of dead grass, overgrown weeds and cracked windows.

It was whilst he was walking up the dilapidated street that Severus Snape had his first glance of Lily Evans.

He was seven and his mother was ill and his father was unconscious on the couch (as usual) so she had sent him up the street to the shop so he could get some food for himself. He was on his way back down the street to Spinner's End, carrying a small bag of groceries when he had heard the lightest of tinkling laughs and the softest of murmuring voices floating from the neat road, across the strip of grass, to the dodgy road. He had looked up and then simply stood and watched.

Lily was running after her sister, long red hair streaming out behind her as she laughed and tried to catch up with Petunia who was also laughing. Severus had known there was a new family moving to the town but he had never expected the green-eyed beauty he was now watching run up the street. He felt a surge of disappointment as he realised she was probably a muggle – from the relationship his parents had, Severus had realised that magic and muggles would never go well together.


	45. Illusion

**Keyword: Illusion**

Lily Evans first performed magic at the age of eight in the small, somewhat shabby play park on the outskirts of Cokeworth watched, unknown to her, by Severus Snape.

She was on the swings, trying to go as high as she possibly could whilst Petunia went tamely back and forth beside her, occasionally glancing worriedly up at her younger sister who was getting higher and higher by the second. Lily always had been the more rebellious of the two children – she was always the one to run along the pavement beside a road, or hold scissors the wrong way (sharp scissors at that) and, as always, swing too high on the swings.

"Tuney! Tuney! Look how high I'm going!" Lily called to her elder sister who sniffed in disdain as she continued to go gently back and forth close to the safety of the ground. "Tuney! Look at me-" Lily's words were cut off by a sudden scream and all of the mothers in the playground looked around frenziedly, trying to decide whether it was their precious darling who was voicing their pain in such an obnoxiously loud manner.

Then, as if they were one body, every single head in the playground turned to watch as Lily Evans arched gracefully into the sky - unnaturally high off the ground even for flying off a swing – floated there bizarrely for several long, tension-filled moments, and then floated gently back to earth and skipped off to the sandbox as if nothing had happened.

Still acting as if they were one, all the mothers blinked, shrugged and decided it had been a simple illusion and that, really, Lily had just jumped off and in their panicking state they had made a bigger deal out of it than they should have. However, hidden by the bushes in which he was spying, Severus allowed himself a tiny smile because, unlike the clueless muggle mothers, he knew what had really happened and what that meant Lily was.


	46. Family

**Keyword: Family**

Dead leaves crackled under Dumbledore's feet as he walked slowly throughout the graveyard, his travelling cloak whispering on the ground behind him. It was late August and school would be starting in just under a week but Dumbledore was doing as he did every year: travelling to Godric's Hollow to visit his family's graves. Only this time he would be visiting another pair of tombs as well.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect her, mother. I'm sorry I broke my promise. I'm sorry that it might have been… might have been my… fault." Every year he came, and every year he said pretty much the same thing, and still, every year he found himself crying over his mother's grave. Minerva had once offered to come with him, a long time ago, and he had vehemently refused – this was a ceremony he had to go through alone, unfailingly.

"I'm sorry, Ariana." Dumbledore turned to his sister's grave once he was sure his voice was steady. "I'm sorry that I was selfish. I'm sorry I put my wants before your needs. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you as a supportive elder brother. I'm sorry because it was my fault for inviting him into our lives because I was just so selfish." He knelt there for a few moments longer before moving on towards the fresh graves of Lily and James.

"Hello, Severus," he murmured quietly upon coming across the dark figure huddled in front of the shining stone. Severus didn't look up when Dumbledore laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, he didn't look up when he placed a ring of flowers on the already laden grave, nor did he look up when Dumbledore traced the names and dates on the stone and whispered something meant for the unhearing ears of James and Lily only. Severus, consumed by his grief, didn't even notice Dumbledore Apparate away until long after he was gone.


	47. Homunculi

**Keyword: Homunculi (Well this one was fun...)**

"LILY! WHAT'S A 'HOMUNCULI'?" James yelled up the stairs and was answered by the fresh cries of Harry who Lily had just put down for a nap. Twenty minutes later she appeared at the top of the stairs looking rather disgruntled.

"James, you knew I was putting him down for a nap!" She muttered angrily and then stopped at the look on her husband's face. "What's wrong? Has someone…?" She didn't want to say it – they'd lost so much of the Order already that she couldn't face even the thought that they'd lost someone else.

"No, it's from Dumbledore – one of the Order members just found out that You Know Who's trying to make something called a 'homunculi'. What is that?" Lily sighed – sometimes it was easy to forget that her husband was a graduate of Hogwarts, or any school for that matter.

"Homunculi is the plural form of homunculus – which has several definitions. As it's You Know Who, I presume it's the definition of an artificially made dwarf, produced in a flask by an alchemist. So, Dumbledore has information that he's trying to produce artificial life? If he succeeds that will not be good for us," Lily said, a frown crossing her delicate features. James sank down onto the sofa and pulled her closer to him.

"You said they were produced by alchemists, right? And alchemists are the people who turn metals to gold and discover life-prolonging elixirs and stuff that we can do with potions?" Lily nodded, wary of where he was going. "So, do you think it's Snape who's behind the whole dwarf-producing thing?" Lily stiffened against her husband's side – she hadn't thought of that.

"I… I have no idea. I've just remembered I need to water the flowers." She stood up and made to exit the lounge, leaving James frowning on the sofa.

"Lily, it's been raining all day…" He called but she was already outside.

Would her best friend – ex-best friend – really do something like that?


	48. Orphan

**Keyword: Orphan**

Remus inhaled a lungful of the clear morning air and shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts buzzing around it as he quietly opened the gate and walked up the path. He stopped before reaching the door and peered through the window into the lounge where James was playing Harry's favourite game with him – the one where he produced coloured puffs of smoke and Harry tried to catch them. Harry noticed the movement at the window and turned and pointed enthusiastically in his direction. James looked in the direction his son was pointing and his face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. Moments later the door was pulled open and James wrapped him in a hug before quickly stopping and remembering priorities.

"Remus Lupin suffers from lycanthropy – to hide this he referred to it as something else in his schooldays. What was this cover-up?" He asked, quite calmly, his hand resting on the pocket his wand was in.

"I called it my "furry little problem" in the company of those who were unaware – most were under the impression that I owned a badly behaved rabbit. It's good to see you, Prongs. Where's Lily?" The two men walked into the lounge and Remus immediately sat on the floor beside Harry and continued where James had left off with the puffs of smoke. Harry laughed in delight and reached for a blue puff the size of his head.

"She's upstairs asleep – Harry was up half the night and despite my numerous attempts to quieten him down, he wouldn't shut up – little toe rag." James gently nudged his son with his foot as Remus chuckled light-heartedly.

"Just like his father then," he teased and James laughed loudly, and then cringed when Lily yelled something unintelligible from above.

The two old friends spent the rest of the summery day outside catching up – quietly – and laughing at Harry when he became intrigued by a million different things a minute. Watching James, Remus and Harry, no one would guess that three months later their tiny world would be ripped apart – James and Lily dead, Remus accused of being a traitor by Sirius, and Harry left an orphan living with muggle relatives.


	49. Stripes

**Keyword: Stripes**

James was watching Harry's Christmas DA meeting very carefully, grinning to himself like a complete and utter fool as he did so. Lily had been chatting to Marlene a few yards away from him and was watching him suspiciously for a few moments before she went over.

"What're you grinning about? Which ghost are you going to attempt to prank this time? May I remind you of how badly it went last time?" Stripes of red appeared on James's cheeks as he blushed and grinned sheepishly at her, remembering the time he had tried to prank Peeves and it had gone wrong.

"Harry's totally got a thing for this Cho girl," he announced and Lily rolled her eyes as Fabian and Gideon floated over, grinning in the same way James was.

"Yes, James dear, we figured that out about a year ago – remember the entire fiasco when he asked her to the Yule Ball?" Marlene called from the seat she hadn't moved from. There was a general round of laughter as Lily peered over her husband's shoulder to watch the Room of Requirement empty slowly.

"Ooooooh," Gideon and Fabian chorused mockingly, watching Harry move towards Cho. Everyone present in the cosy room put down whatever they were doing and wandered over to watch as Harry and Cho talked quietly. Most of the men laughed at Harry's failed attempt to comfort Cho, whilst the women rolled their eyes and tutted. A hush fell when Cho pointed out the mistletoe.

"Oh my gosh… James, he's growing up so quickly," Lily sighed and then everyone erupted into cheers and coos as Harry and Cho kissed.

"Oh… wow… okay, Harry, keep it PG… Just as well that's not happening in the corridors, if Snivellus saw that it'd probably be worth about two weeks of detention…" Benjy called from the back of the huddle of wizards and there was a ripple of laughter.

"Lily, come on, don't cry," James said, suddenly noticing his wife's watery eyes. "This is something to be happy about…" He put an arm around her, looking at a complete loss as he glanced at the others for help.

"I… am… happy," she hiccupped, trying to hold back her tears. "But… we couldn't… be there to hear about it from him ourselves!" She wailed and starting sobbing on his shoulder as James stroked her hair and made soothing noises. Down on Earth, Harry left the Room of Requirement after Cho, feeling light-hearted.


	50. Breaking the Rules

**Keyword: Breaking the Rules**

Sirius paced the length of the kitchen angrily, ignoring Remus's attempts to comfort him. They had received the news almost an hour ago about Harry leaving Hogwarts and flying to the Ministry and Sirius had been pacing the kitchen ever since.

"You know what? I can't take this anymore. All I've done this past year is sit on my ass, only helping by cleaning this bloody house and occasionally sitting in on some meetings but never actually doing anything to help! Snape's taunting is driving me completely insane and I'm sick of it because all he's saying is true! No more. I'm leaving," Sirius ranted and grabbed his travelling cloak from the chair he'd thrown it on angrily when Remus had first told him that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Sirius, no, we can't!" Remus protested, standing quickly as Sirius fastened the cloak around his neck.

"There's no one here to stop us, Moony, and I for one am not going to sit back and wait to be told about whether my godson's alive or not! James wouldn't want his best friends to sit on their asses whilst his _son _is out there fighting! Dumbledore's made me hunker down and keep inside for my own safety this past year and I've done what he's said, but now that Harry's involved I'm breaking the rules." He swirled out of the kitchen in a flurry of black robes and cloaks. Remus gave a weary sigh and followed him quickly.

Only moments later they arrived at the ministry and were in the lift down to the Department of Mysteries. Someone had somehow charmed the room of revolving doors to stay still and they sprinted straight through it, joining Moody, Tonks and Kingsley who gave Sirius exasperated looks but said nothing as they all started making their way down to the floor, raining spells upon the Death Eaters.

Sirius was feeling so… so right in the moment as he fought and injured and protected his godson and the prophecy. After such a long year of being cooped up inside he was finally out and it felt so good to be a part of the action again and as he turned his wand upon Bellatrix he had never felt so alive.

Then a flash of red hit his chest and he was falling backwards so slowly it felt as if someone had just about stopped time, but not completely. He could see everyone from this position, from Mad-Eye lying on the floor, groping for his eye, to Harry turning slowly to see, his face full of disbelief.

_I'll tell them all about you, Harry, they'll be so proud... _he thought as he felt the whispers from behind the veil reaching out to pull him in.


	51. Games

**Keyword: Games**

"Sev? Sev? Where are you, Sev?" Lily's bubbling laughter floated through the air towards him as he hid behind the willow tree that was their favourite to sit under in the summer. "Come on, Sev, you know you're better at this game than I am! I've been looking for ages and I'm tired!" Her laughter had died down and he faintly heard her huff in exasperation. "That's it, I give up!"

"Oh, come on, Lils!" Severus called teasingly as he stepped out from behind his tree and made his way up to the bench Lily had flopped onto. "You always give up when we play these games now. What happened to the fun Lily who used to be the most competitive person I knew?"

"It's too hot for running around," Lily said grumpily as she attempted to tie back her hair. The hair tie flew from her fingers and landed several feet away. Lily sighed loudly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Severus asked as he retrieved the hair tie and scooped Lily's long hair off her neck and fastened it in a neat ponytail. "Yesterday you were happy to run around and it was hotter than this. Have you and your sister had another argument?" He plopped down onto the bench beside her and she turned to face him.

"No, no, it's nothing to do with family," she sighed and he felt a little bit of relief – at least she was talking to him about what had made her so upset. "It's about that James Potter." Severus frowned down at the bench. Only one month of school had gone by before Potter had declared his undying love for Lily and continued to harass her in every way he could think of in an attempt to get her to go out with him.

"He's been writing to me," Lily mumbled and Severus's head snapped up to stare at her. "I haven't been replying… but he writes almost every day and he won't stop! Sev, it's getting really annoying," Lily ranted and Severus nodded absently as he wondered if these letters and actions were just games to the arrogant Gryffindor.

**I have two notes to go here so please take the time to read them :)**

**1. It's lovely how many of you are putting this on alert and favourites, but I'd absolutely love to know why you've done that, in a review. Also I'd love to hear what kind of stuff you'd like to see, which characters, and their ages because it's hard to come up with ideas sometimes :L**

**2. I don't know if many of you are members of Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges but, at the moment, there's a thread accepting nominations for amazing fanfics here www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/7203407/1/# - if you've read any amazing stories that fit under the categories which are still open, go ahead and nominate them!**

**That's all, thanks for reading :)**


	52. Claustrophobia

**Keyword: Claustrophobia**

"Professor, what are we making today?" Lily asked, slinging her bag onto her desk beside Severus and looking up at him with wide, curious eyes. Slughorn beamed at her and waddled around from behind the massive cauldron at the front of the classroom so he could address his students.

"Today, we shall be making a potion which helps cure the fear of being in a confined space – commonly known as claustrophobia. I understand that it is quite the complex potion for fourth year students but I have every faith in you. Ah, Mr Pettigrew… Perhaps you should observe Mr Potter… We don't want a repeat of the last lesson…" Lily allowed Slughorn's voice to fade into the background as she and Severus began to chop up long pieces of Knotgrass and toss them into the cauldron which was already full of boiling water.

"Look at them," Severus commented scornfully and Lily automatically looked over to where James and Sirius were goofing around with Peter watching their every move. "Potter… Quidditch King. I don't understand how everyone can love that… that…"

"Arrogant toe rag?" Lily completed teasingly and Severus chuckled lightly as he threw in the last bit of Knotgrass and began to tear up Wormwood. The two traded insults about the Gryffindor boy for a while and then both turned their attention away from the simmering potion to listen to Slughorn lecturing Sirius about how it was inappropriate to throw potion ingredients at other students. James glanced up and smirked at Lily, and then his eyes glanced over her shoulder and widened.

"Ah, Evans, you may want to…" His words were cut off by a sudden boom and Severus and Lily whirled around just in time to get a face full of incomplete potion.

**Reviews inspire me... ;)**


	53. Keeping a Secret

**Keywords: Keeping a Secret**

"They've been keeping a secret." Lily jumped slightly and frowned up at Severus accusingly as her ink spread slowly over the desk. Sighing she pulled out her wand, vanished the mess and extracted a new bottle of ink from her bag. She jerked the stopper out and filled up her quill, and then went back to carefully taking down notes as Professor Binns droned on.

"Lily, don't you want to know who and what I'm talking about?" Severus whispered persistently and she sighed again, only this time with much more edge.

"It's obvious who you're talking about, Sev. It's always obvious. You're talking about Potter, and Black, and Pettigrew, and Lupin – as always. I swear, you have some kind of obsession with them," Lily hissed back, her quill scratching furiously back and forth across the page as she attempted to keep up with Professor Binns's speech about the goblin wars. Severus gaped at her and then bent his head to his own parchment.

"Lupin's a werewolf…" He muttered after ten minutes of silence. Lily's quill paused for a minute and then continued with increased fervour.

"I know," she mumbled after a little while and Severus actually put his quill through his parchment in shock. The bell rang just as he opened his mouth to ask her a question and she quickly threw her books in her bag and dashed out of the classroom. He was right on her heels.

"How long have you known?" He demanded as they hurried through the busy halls to the Transfiguration courtyard. "And how did you find out?" Lily threw her bag to the ground, plopped onto the bench, and then cast an Imperturbable charm over where they were sitting so the rain bounced away from them.

"Remus told me in Hogsmeade last year-" Lily began but Severus interrupted her.

"What were you doing in Hogsmeade with _Lupin_?" He sneered and Lily rolled her eyes as she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I wasn't there with him, we just both happened to be in the bookshop and I noticed him pick up a book on werewolves and he saw me looking and just blurted it out. He made me promise never to tell anyone – for obvious reasons – including Potter, Black and Pettigrew because apparently Potter wants to tell me himself." Lily shrugged and then peered at her best friend. "How did _you _find out? I know Remus wouldn't tell you… Potter and Black definitely wouldn't… Pettigrew's too cowardly to do anything without the others, how he got put in Gryffindor is beyond me. So how'd you find out?"

"Ah, well, it's a long story…" Fortunately for Severus the bell rang and he jumped up. "Oh, time for class. I'm just going to, um, get going…" He trailed off and disappeared from the courtyard.

**Reviews make the sun shine... Even when it's raining... Which it does most of the time here...**


	54. City

**Keyword: City**

"Merlin, move, Snivellus!" James Potter shoved the Slytherin boy aside so he could see what was actually going on in the Defence Against the Dark Arts presentation. Severus scowled and made a move to retaliate but stopped at the feeling of Lily's small hand clutching his wrist. He turned to see her shaking her head, eyes wide.

"Don't," she whispered, indicating to their teacher with her head. Severus sighed and nodded, and then turned to watch what he could see of the lesson now that Potter's big head was blocking the way.

"I'm proud of you for not yelling back at Potter," Lily said to him afterwards when they were making their way to lunch. Severus turned his head to smile at her but she didn't see it because James chose that moment to barge between them so he and Sirius could get into the Great Hall first. Severus glared at the back of the Gryffindor boy and stopped in the middle of the Entrance Hall.

"Potter, you don't own this place, you know!" He called angrily and James stopped and turned slowly, a smirk on his face. He strutted arrogantly back over to where Severus and Lily were standing.

"Well, Snivellus, that may be true but it would be more likely for me to own this school than it would be for you. In fact, let's put it this way. Hogwarts is a country, alright, and I'm the king of that country. You're such a small part of the country – not even a city – that you're completely insignificant." There was a collective snigger from the crowd which had gathered around the two fourth years and Sirius and Peter whooped. Remus sighed, rolled his eyes, and disappeared into the Great Hall with a book tucked under his arm. Severus saw Lily frowning at them from the edge of the circle and decided it was his chance to impress her.

"Well, you keep thinking that Potter, I'm going to go and enjoy my lunch," Severus said, not without difficulty. Lily beamed at him as he walked towards her, ignoring the stunned look on James's face and feeling his stomach flip with triumph. He had managed to make Lily smile like that and said something to Potter which left him without a comeback or a hex. What a great day it was turning out to be.

"Stupefy!" On second thoughts…

**Reviews make Lily beam brighter than the sun... ;)**


	55. Waiting

**Keyword: Waiting**

"Oi, Evans, you're coming to the Spring Ball with me, alright?" James Potter yelled across the common room and everything went deadly silent. It was their fifth year at Hogwarts and James Potter was still strutting around acting like he owned the place – especially now that he'd been made Gryffindor Quidditch captain.

Lily looked up from her book slowly and the entire room seemed to stop breathing as one, aside from a few reactions. Sirius rolled his eyes in exasperated amusement and smirked at Lily, waggling his eyebrows in a way which suggested he would jump to ask her if she turned down James. Remus sighed almost inaudibly and put down his quill which had been scratching out his homework. Lily's friend Mary muttered something under her breath whilst glaring at James and folded her arms. Lily stood up.

"No I'm not. What is it about you that makes you think I'd even come near you with a stick, let alone go out with you?" Sniggers flew around the room like wildfire and James frowned.

"Aw, come on, Lils…"

"Lils? LILS? WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO CALL ME BY THAT NAME?" She cried and James cringed slightly. "YOU BARELY EVEN CALL ME BY MY FIRST NAME, AND NOW YOU THINK IT'S OKAY TO CALL ME BY A NICKNAME RESERVED FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ONLY." James looked at the floor and muttered something under his breath. "What was that?" Lily snapped. James shook his head.

"Ah, James, mate… I'd answer her if I were you and wanted to keep my balls…" Sirius whispered loudly and there were titters from various corners. James took a deep breath and repeated himself, still staring resolutely at the floor.

"I said: Snape calls you that…" James muttered and Lily went pale. Sirius drew in a whistling breath through his teeth.

"Now you've done it, mate," Sirius murmured as Lily drew herself up to her full height – which was still at least four inches small than James.

"JAMES POTTER, I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU AND YOUR UNBEARABLE ARROGANCE! I JUST CAN'T COMPREHEND HOW YOUR FRIENDS EVEN PUT UP WITH YOU – ACTUALLY I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW YOU ACTUALLY HAVE FRIENDS! ALL DAY LONG YOU STRUT AROUND THIS CASTLE ACTING LIKE YOU'RE THE KING OF THE ENTIRE WORLD! WELL, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING WHICH MIGHT DEFLATE YOUR HEAD A LITTLE BIT. I WILL NEVER, NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND, GO OUT WITH YOU," she yelled and in the silence you could have heard a phoenix feather drop.

"Yeah, well, I can't comprehend how your _face_ has friends! Ooh, burn!" James replied and several people coughed to cover up laughter as Lily glared at him.

"Try talking to me when you grow up," she said coldly and then turned and ran up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. Mary went to follow her but stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Don't – she'll be waiting forever," she commented snidely and then followed her friend.

**Reviews mean Lily (and you) doesn't have to wait forever ;)**


	56. Hell Bent

**Keyword: Hell-Bent**

Slughorn knew it was trouble when Adam Nox appeared at his door, his chest thrust out to show off his gleaming new prefect badge.

"What is it this time, Nox?" He asked amiably enough as he bustled around a bubbling potion, occasionally pausing to chop up some herbs and throw them in. "Wait, let me guess. Potter and Snape, again?"

"It seems they're hell-bent on killing each other, sir. They're in the entrance hall but no teachers are around so I figured I should come and find someone – and you were closest." Nox nodded importantly and Slughorn nodded as he waved his wand over the cauldron so it wouldn't boil over whilst he was gone.

"Alright," he sighed wearily, not really in the mood to deal with two duelling fifth years for the third time that week. "Lead the way." Adam nodded and turned out of the office, leading the way to the entrance hall where, surely enough, Severus Snape and James Potter were throwing hexes at each other as if their lives depended on it – which they probably actually did, James was bleeding so badly that Slughorn was very impressed he was still standing. Slughorn could see Black, Pettigrew, and a wary Lupin standing behind Potter, ready to step in and fight (or break up the fight, in Lupin's case) when needed. Unusually Lily Evans wasn't around – she was usually the one who the fights seemed to concern.

"Protego," he muttered and an invisible shield flew up between the boys, absorbing two beams of red light at the last minute. The two tried to fire a few more hexes at each other before seeming to realise what had happened, at which point they glared around looking for the person who had stopped them killing each other.

"Detention; Potter, Snape – this evening in my classroom at eight o'clock sharp – and thirty points off each of your Houses for such disruption. Now, Potter, get yourself up to the hospital wing; you're bleeding all over the marble. Lupin, Black, Pettigrew; take him up there and make sure he doesn't get any blood on the tapestries or faint. We shall be having a talk about your behaviour," he directed this to both Snape and Potter, "tonight in detention." Sensing that the professor was done with his small speech, Black jumped into the small circle and grabbed Potter just before he collapsed.

Slughorn waited until the small huddle of Gryffindor boys had disappeared up to the hospital wing before he removed the Shield charm and waddled back to his room and the comfort of some crystallised pineapple.

**Review, and Slughorn will share his pineapple ;)**


	57. Sacrifice

**Keyword: Sacrifice**

"Merlin, Snape, where've you been?"

"Probably hanging out with his Mudblood girlfriend again."

"How you can spend all day with a girl who's both a Gryffindor and a Mudblood is just beyond me."

"Shut up, guys," Severus muttered, throwing himself into a chair by the fire. It crackled ominously as the other Slytherin third years chucked their quills down and closed their textbooks so as to jeer at Severus better. He glowered back at them and dove into his bag, searching for a book so he could ignore them.

"Ah, Severus," Malfoy shook his head and sneered at the greasy haired boy. "When will you ever learn? You are in Slytherin – hanging out with a Mudblood Gryffindor is about the same as putting yourself up for sacrifice. We here are of the purest of blood – despite the odd half-blood," he paused to smirk at Snape, "and we must uphold the great name of Salazar Slytherin. If you're found in the company of that Mudblood again, there will be consequences."

* * *

><p>"And then he was like "it's about the same as sacrificing yourself and we, the pureblood snobs, must uphold the name of Salazar"" Severus imitated Malfoy in an overly posh voice, gesturing wildly with his arms as Lily rolled about on the grass laughing.<p>

"He actually said that? That's hilarious! And he was being totally serious? He's so full of it!" Lily cried through her laughter as Severus laughed alongside her. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, I just packed my stuff up and went to the library, but I really wanted to tell him where he could shove his pride and pure-blooded-ness. Seriously, who talks like that?" The two of them immediately said "Potter" and then looked at each other and dissolved into laughter once more.

"Sev, you swear we'll always be best friends?" Lily asked a while later, once they had found their breath.

"I think you've asked me this question at least a thousand times but my answer is still the same. Always."

**So I'm going to ask something (whilst requesting reviews as usual ;)) - what situation do you think a kiss between Lily and Sev would come in, if there was one? I'd love to hear your thoughts and, possibly write a chapter on it ^-^**


	58. Bittersweet

**Keyword: Bittersweet**

"Sev! Sev! Over here!" Severus whipped around just in time as Lily bounced over to kiss and leaned up to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek and wrap her arms around him in a massive bear hug. "I haven't seen you since the start of the summer, you know – since the whole thing with Petunia in the park. I missed you!" She frowned up at him but her beaming smile was quickly back.

"I am sorry about that," Severus apologised, trying to hold down a blush. "Mum's not been well so I was helping her for the entire holiday. I missed you too." She nodded and smiled again, and then bid her parents farewell and the two went to load their trunks onto the train.

"How long have you been on the platform?" Lily asked conversationally as they wandered up and down the train trying to find an empty compartment. "I've been looking for you for ages!"

"Yes, well, Mum's completely lost track of the days so she woke up late." Severus shrugged at her as they ducked into an empty compartment at the very end of the train. No sooner had they sat down, and Lily was bouncing back up again.

"I only just remembered! I was made Gryffindor Prefect; I need to be at the Prefect's Compartment right now!" She nearly skipped over to the door, where she paused and looked back at him. "Are you coming?" She asked with a gleam of hope in her eyes. When he shook his head her face fell.

"Not enough of a goody two-shoes to be made a prefect," he teased and she stuck her tongue out at him before she danced away up the middle of the train.

Sighing, Severus slumped in his seat and stared gloomily out of the window. That little kiss on the station, the friendly one on the cheek, could not have been a more bittersweet moment. It was amazing because, well, it was a _kiss _from _Lily_, his Lily but at the same time it made him want to curl up and cry a little because he knew it would never be more.

**So, are you wondering what the "whole thing with Petunia in the park" is? If you want to find out, go and check out my story Under the Tree – I think of it as a companion story to this one, as it's too long to write as a chapter. Reviews are appreciated as always ;)**


	59. Suffocate

**Keyword: Suffocate**

"Offoco!" The spell hit Severus straight in the back and he doubled over, hands scrabbling at his throat uselessly as he choked. Sirius and James pushed past him, roaring with laughter as he sent them as dirty a look as he could manage when his face was turning blue.

"Anapneo." The voice came quietly from behind and Severus's airway was suddenly clear. Gasping for air, Severus turned around to thank Lily only to be shocked to see Remus Lupin standing there with a book in one hand, his wand in the other, and an indifferent expression on his face.

"Why…?" Severus began to ask but Remus just shook his head and turned around, heading towards the library. "Oi, Lupin, wait!" Severus yelled and ran after him – aware he was acting pretty weirdly but he needed to know why Remus had done that. Remus kept walking, but Severus eventually caught up with him.

"Why would you do that? You hate me," Severus said, gazing at the slightly shabby boy with open curiosity. Remus sighed and stopped so he could face Severus.

"_I _don't hate you. James and Sirius might, but I don't. I don't particularly like you either but you're a good friend to Lily and she's a good friend to me and I know she wouldn't particularly appreciate it if her best friend were to suffocate under the hands of "those arrogant toe-rags" as she is so fond of calling James and Sirius." Remus shrugged and moved away again.

"Lupin!" Severus called and Remus sighed and turned back to face him. "Why have you never helped me before? I mean, I appreciate it – as weird as it is – but when Potter and Black have attacked before you never helped."

"That's because Lily never asked me to help, until a few days ago," Remus replied quietly and then disappeared around the corner before Severus could call after him again. Frowning, Severus wandered down to the Great Hall, wondering if he would still be breathing if Remus hadn't saved him only because Lily asked him to.

**Review and tell me what you think of all these chapters, and if you'd like something similar but for a different character (e.g. Sirius? Or someone from a different era?) and if so, who?**


	60. Rejection

**Keyword: Rejection**

"So, Evans… If you do my Transfiguration essay for me I'll let you kiss me. Deal?" Severus rolled his eyes as he rounded the corner of the shelves, a pile of books in his arms, to see Potter standing over Lily who was happily ignoring him and instead focusing on the long essay in front of her.

"C'mon Evans! This is such a great deal – you get to do work, which I know you love, and as a gift you get to kiss me!" He suppressed an amused chuckle as he waited for Lily's rejection, knowing it would come sooner or later. But, much to his surprise the next person to speak didn't have Lily's lilting song of a voice, or Potter's squeaky arrogance.

"Shove off, Potter." The deep rumbling tone was that of David Cresswell – Dirk's older brother. He was three years older and in his last year of Hogwarts and Severus couldn't fathom as to why he was standing beside Lily, glaring at Potter, with his hands resting gently on Lily's shoulders.

"What do _you _want, Cresswell?" Potter sneered and Severus was reminded that Potter and Cresswell had never liked each other very much at all, especially not since Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor at Quidditch because Cresswell caught the Snitch a matter of seconds before Potter reached for it.

"For you to leave my girlfriend alone, so she and I can get on with our work in peace," Cresswell stated bluntly and Potter gaped at him, fishing for a response to this shock. Severus never heard Potter's presumably idiotic response though, because he couldn't hear anything over the roaring blood in his head.

Lily had a boyfriend? Lily was going out with David Cresswell, and he hadn't known? He wasn't actually sure what was worse – the fact that Lily had a boyfriend, or the fact that she hadn't told him.

**Wow, halfway through! I'd just like to take a moment to say thank you so much for all the reviews and support so far; it's brilliant to know you are all enjoying this so much :)**

**On another note, I've got a set of 100 different prompts and I'm thinking of doing something similar to this, but surrounding Fred and George - would anyone be interested in reading that?**


	61. Fairy Tale

**Keywords: Fairy Tale**

He could hear the sounds of the reception party slowly emptying out of the hotel and onto the beach to watch the fireworks he was sure James had set up as a special surprise for Lily. His Lily.

Except, officially she wasn't his Lily now. She was Lily Potter (nee Evans) and she was married to James Potter and together they would have little mini Potters and the mere thought of it made him sick.

He knew how much planning had gone into this wedding – a lot of planning had to go into every magical wedding these days due to the wizarding war. But a lot had gone into this one especially, he had heard, because James had wanted to make it just that little bit more special for Lily. Severus couldn't help but wonder if perhaps James was insecure and thought a little bit more pomp and splendour would persuade Lily to stay by his side.

Severus knew it wouldn't though – if Lily wanted to leave James then she would. But she wouldn't because this was her fairy tale, and he knew it. She wanted to get married to someone she loved and, unfortunately, that was now James. He was happy for her because he knew that it wasn't love if you were making the other person unhappy. It was true, unrequited love if the other was happy.

The first firework exploded way overhead and Severus glanced down to the beach where the crowd was momentarily lit by the burst of colour. Lily and James were right at the front of the crowd but they weren't watching the fireworks in awe, they were just standing staring deeply at each other. And in that gaze, Severus knew they were saying everything to each other that they could, every feeling they could express without words and touches.

And Severus felt a deep yearning within him to be standing where James stood.

**My new story is up! It's called Lightning in the Flames and it's Fred and George central ;) Please go and check it out, and leave a review behind both here and there **


	62. Djinn

**Keyword: Djinn - I had no idea how to incorporate this one so I just went for a pretty basic way...**

"Lily would you control your cat? For the love of Merlin, he's driving me insane!" Mary screeched from the bedroom and Lily hurried out, just finished getting dressed.

"Djinn! Djinn, honey calm down," she soothed, gathering the squirming cat into her arms and glancing apologetically at Mary who was sporting a series of scratches up her arms. "I'm sorry; you know he hates it when people go under my bed. He's just a loyal little kitten, you see?" She held him up in her friend's direction and pouted until Mary shook her head and laughed.

"Loyal little kitten my arse – he's a cold-blooded tiger. However, I'll let it go this time because we have more important matters to discuss!" Lily set her cat down and he ran off to terrorise someone else as she settled onto her bed and looked at her friend curiously. "Gossip, of course!"

"Ah, Mary. Just when I thought you were going to be somewhat serious for the first time in your life," Lily chuckled and flopped back onto her bed so she was staring up at the ceiling of it, where she had attached several posters and photographs – half of them moving, half of them still.

"There's a rumour going around that Sirius tried to "ravish you without your consent" - as Louise Porter so brilliantly put it – and that Snape just stood and watched. Is it true?" Mary rolled over to lie on her stomach and gazed at her friend with widened eyes.

"What? No! Sure; Sirius tried to do something he really shouldn't have and James was the one who saved me – not Severus. He wasn't even there, to my knowledge so I have no idea where people got that rumour from. Urgh, knowing James he probably started it to make himself look good, the twat."

"So… Sirius did try to rape you, Snape didn't just stand and watch, and James saved you?" Mary asked and Lily nodded. "Obviously, Sirius was drunk at the time?" Lily gaped and threw a pillow at her friend.

"Hey, are you saying he wouldn't have done it if he wasn't drunk?" The two exploded into giggles at the thought of what James would do to Sirius if he had tried to do it without the excuse of being drunk.

**Review if you think Sirius wouldn't (or if you think he would!) do bad things whilst sober ;)**


	63. Come Hither

**Keywords: Come-hither**

James choked on his chicken as Lily and David wandered into the Great Hall holding hands and looking rather smitten. Sirius smirked at him, Peter thumped him on the back, and Remus sighed quietly and took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"You know, I don't get it," James declared, his eyes following Lily and David with a hawk-like manner as they sat down in a quiet spot at the Ravenclaw table and started murmuring to each other as they ate. Their eyes barely broke apart as they talked and ate and James felt rather like he was going to be sick.

"How come _he _gets her? He just popped up out of nowhere, sent Evans one of his "soulful" looks and bam, she's his! I've been working at her for years and just when I think she's about to crack, he just struts in and is all "shove off, Potter" and it's like I'm a piece of mud on her shoe," James ranted, stabbing at his potatoes viciously with his fork and causing the entire table to jump when he missed and nearly broke the plate with the force of his anger.

"James, calm down," Remus said quietly as Sirius patted his best friend's shoulder and discreetly pulled the plate away from him. "It's not like they've announced that they're going to get married and they'll probably break up soon anyway – apparently David isn't the greatest at commitment and the longest relationship he's had only lasted about two weeks." Sirius, James, and Peter all stopped what they were doing to gape at their friend for a moment – wondering when he had turned from quiet, studious Remus into the little gossip mill that sat before them. Remus just shrugged and went back to his book.

"So I'll just wait for them to break up and then give her, like, a come-hither look and she'll be mine?" James asked hopefully, having come to the conclusion that Lily had only gone to David because of the "soulful" look. He immediately attempted a similar expression and Sirius burst out laughing.

"Maybe just stick to the charming teasing, mate, you look like you've swallowed something Wormy cooked," Sirius chuckled, ignoring Peter's protests. Suddenly, Sirius stopped laughing and glanced up to the doors of the hall with a look of quiet satisfaction on his face. "Well, Prongs, looks like something good has come of this."

Snape was standing in the entrance, looking at David and Lily with a look of horror on his face. Right at that moment, David lowered his head to kiss Lily, and Snape turned a disgusting shade of green and disappeared.

**Review if you'd like to see a come-hither look from James ;) and to give me more ideas! I've got a poll up on my profile about this story, please check it out?**

**Thank you all :)**

"You can't have her… but that means Snivellus can't either," Sirius pointed out and James smirked.


	64. Amputation

**Keyword: Amputation**

Severus wasn't sure how long he stood outside the destroyed house staring at the complete and utter destruction that was evident in the rubble covering the lawn and the shattered glass scattered everywhere. The hole in the side of the house seemed to mock him, whilst echoing the size of the hole which had been blasted through his heart.

From the bedroom upstairs, there was the faint sound of a baby crying and Severus felt his stomach drop as he realised that Harry's mother would never be able to stop her child crying again. Albus and Minerva had already moved over the lawn and were approaching the front door, but Severus was frozen with his hand still on the gate. It was sort of sickening how the hedge and gate were still perfectly intact, and the house just behind had been completely ruined.

He wasn't sure how he'd known but earlier that day something had made him Apparate to Hogsmeade and go right to Dumbledore but they'd been too late. He could remember the moment it hit him with all the clarity of an amputated limb, the phantom pains, as though it was still there but unseen. He had known of the Dark Lord's plan, of course, but he had gone to Dumbledore and he thought… he thought they would be okay. But suddenly he had realised, deep down, that Lily was going to die.

And now she was gone, and she would never come back.

**That was even harder than Djinn... Please review and leave ideas for anything you would like to see! Do you want more ghost LilyJames? More moments from before Hogwarts? More moments during Hogwarts? Moments with Severus after Lily's death? I'd love to hear it :)**


	65. Contort

**Keyword: Contort**

"_Diggory's dead!"_

The scream echoed through the night and immediately panic ensued as people almost fell over each other in their haste to see if this screech, this most horrific of rumours, was true.

Severus could see from the edge of the maze that it was true, despite the amount of people surrounding Diggory's body. He felt his stomach contort into a far too familiar shape as he realised just how similar Diggory was to his Lily. Both were young with promises of such successful futures, and both were loved by so many. Both had been killed by Voldemort, or at least a Death Eater – Cedric Diggory probably wasn't a concern to the Dark Lord; just a nuisance.

He had felt it as soon as he returned. He wasn't sure exactly how he knew, but his suspicions were confirmed several moments later when the mark burned into his skin. He had exchanged a look with Albus who had been watching him closely.

"He has returned," he whispered to the Headmaster and then they had had to wait in silent tension… for what they weren't sure.

And now Cedric Diggory was lying dead on the ground, and people were crying, and all Severus could think about was how similar Cedric Diggory was to Lily Evans. A bright, promising future ruined in face of Voldemort's quest to rid the planet of "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord". In that moment, he hated himself so much for eavesdropping on that meeting and relaying the prophecy to Voldemort. Everything would have been so different if only he had thought before he spoke.

He had known it already, but as he closed in on the crowd surrounding Diggory's body, it hit him with the force of an Unforgivable. Lily was dead because of him.

**Review if you don't think it's entirely Severus's fault? Or if you do!**

****You may have noticed I've been changing my pen-name a lot recently, could you guys help me out and vote on the poll on my profile? I just can't decide!****


	66. Suicide

**Keyword: Suicide**

"Oi… Oi, Padfoot! Get your arse over here!" James yelled to his best friend who was sneaking up behind Tonks and attempting to scare the life out of her which wasn't really working because, well, he was a spirit and she couldn't see him the way she would have been able to see a ghost. Grinning languidly, Sirius strolled over to James's side.

"Check out Snivellus," he whispered, smirking. The two had been ecstatic to have each other again, and had spent about three months acting just like they were back in Hogwarts again, until eventually everyone had yelled at them and they had decided to drift down to the wizarding school and pretend to cause trouble, without actually doing anything other than going through the motions.

"The git looks like he's about to commit suicide or something – what's up with him?" Sirius smirked and walked over to Snape's side to peek over his shoulder. "Ooooh, diary writing time! November 1st… Hey, Prongs! You died yesterday!" Sirius teased and James glowered at him.

"Yeah, like sixteen years ago, you died two months ago." The two men looked at each other and smirked. "Only we would joke about our own deaths," James laughed. "What's Snivellus writing?"

"I love Lily… I miss Lily… Lily is my life, even though she's not here anymore… I dream about Lily every night… Lily, Lily, Lily… Potter sucks… Lily… Lily… Lily…" Sirius doubled over laughing as James scowled and whacked him up the back of the head.

"I heard my name… Boys!" Lily suddenly appeared behind them and whacked them both up the back of the head, smirking as they winced simultaneously. "I don't care how much you hate Severus, it's not nice to snoop! Now come on, it's nearly dinnertime and Sirius, I believe it's your turn to cook. Merlin help us…"

**So yesterday I got a review from my dear friend Lady Katsa (she's my cyber twin, yo.) telling me that asking for reviews was not attractive. And she's right - it really isn't. If you guys want to review, you will, and I shouldn't have to prompt you to ^-^ So, as of this chapter, there will be no more asking for reviews :)**


	67. Security Blanket

**Keywords: Security Blanket**

Albus sighed to himself as he watched Severus stare after Lily who was ignoring him and instead talking eagerly to Remus about a Transfiguration assignment about Animagi. Sirius, James, and Peter were all trailing behind them smirking because they knew more about the study of Animagi than most students. Oddly enough, the three boys were being strangely quiet – usually by this point James would have attempted to ask Lily out again.

Severus's gaze stayed locked on Lily long after she had left the Great Hall and Albus found himself wondering what had become of the young boy. He knew, of course, about the incident that had occurred at the end of their fifth year but he had hoped they would have made up by now. Lily was like some sort of security blanket for Severus – he felt safer when she was around and more confident. Or at least, he had felt like that in the past, now whenever she was around he just felt guilt. Minerva was watching the group as well, frowning.

"I'm worried about young Severus," she confided in him and he nodded, turning his attention to his Deputy Headmistress. "Ever since that spat with Ms Evans last year he hasn't been quite the same. Previously I had hoped that he would be one Slytherin who would go on to do some good in this world but now? Now I am not so sure." Albus nodded thoughtfully.

"He may surprise us yet – he's different for a Slytherin. More thoughtful. Did you know that the Sorting Hat considered placing me in Slytherin?" He smiled happily at the shocked look on her face. "Yes, it said I had more than enough ambition to fit in but eventually went with Gryffindor because it felt I would have a good influence there and perhaps leave the school with the ambition to help others, rather than to harm them. I only hope that I can help young Severus."


	68. Bully

**Keyword: Bully**

He was a coward and a bully and he knew it. He was a coward because if James or Sirius weren't around, he could barely speak to anyone. He was a bully just because it was easier than being nice to people. He was better at picking on smaller, younger people though. The older, taller people just scared him – but he would never admit to this.

However, he did make an exception. He was always quite happy to go out of his way to torment Snape because, well, it was just so much fun! It seemed like pretty much any subject was a touchy one, especially after his fight with Lily in fifth year.

"So, Snivellus, where's your girlfriend?" He whispered snidely to him in Potions one day. "Oh right, I forgot. She's James's girlfriend now, isn't she? Because you were silly enough to think you didn't need her help – you've never been more wrong have you?" He walked away after that, chuckling maliciously as he heard Snape's cauldron start to bubble furiously; he'd accidentally put the wrong ingredient in whilst Peter was annoying him.

"Peter, must you tease him about that so incessantly?" Lily asked quietly when she, James, and Peter were walking to lunch later that day. "He knows he did wrong and while I still haven't forgiven him, that doesn't mean you have to remind him about it every waking hour. While you're at it, would you please tell Sirius to stop it as well?" She looked at him pleadingly and he nodded, and then looked at James over her shoulder. He'd shaken his head slightly and he smirked and almost skipped off to tell Sirius.

They would never stop bullying Snape, and Lily was well aware of it, but she still said the same thing to them every month or so. And every time she did, he and Sirius rejoiced in it because it meant they got to be sneaky with their taunting – and sneaky pranks were always so much more fun than the obvious ones.


	69. Annoyed

**Keyword: Annoyed**

Severus glared at the back of Potter's head, annoyed that this boy was sitting in his glass, sporting his father's messy dark hair and naturally arrogant stature, and Lily's beautiful, beautiful eyes…

It had been ten years to the very day since her death and Severus… Well he hadn't stopped thinking about her for the entire time. She was on his mind constantly, plaguing his thoughts, invading his consciousness, filling his entire brain until he felt like he was about to burst due to the agonising amount of love and pain and guilt that welled up inside him. It just showed how good he was at masking his emotions that none of his pupils ever noticed something was wrong.

"Professor, how do I cut this up properly?" The voice of Draco Malfoy broke him out of the stupor brought on by the ever-present thoughts of Lily and he swooped down to help the boy, happy for something to distract him. "It won't cut." Severus held back a sigh at the arrogance of the small boy – he hated to say that the young Slytherin managed to remind him of James Potter when they were younger.

"You're holding your knife wrong," Severus said and showed him the correct way to handle it. Draco took the knife back and started chopping again.

"Thank you, sir," he said smarmily and Severus had to repress another sigh – Draco may have been like a nephew to him but he could be extremely annoying at times. He looked up from Draco's cauldron and his eyes immediately landed upon the long red hair of a Gryffindor student whose name he hadn't bothered to remember. Her bright hair was swinging in the exact same manner that Lily's had whenever she was excited by the prospect of something.

Severus hurried into his storage room, hoping to Merlin that none of the pupils had noticed the lone tear that had slipped down his cheek without his permission.


	70. Wanton

**Keyword: Wanton**

Her words to him were sort of wanton, sort of uncalled for she guessed, but he deserved them all the same. She was used to being called derogatory terms by the members of the Slytherin house but Severus had never… She never even dared to think that one day he would sink to their level and join in with the name-calling. And the way Potter had tried to "defend" her! Oh, he just made her blood boil! She was perfectly capable of standing up for herself.

"I told you!" Mary was ranting beside her as they hurried up to the castle, Lily glaring at anyone who dared even look at them as Mary rambled on beside her. "I always warned you that he was bad news but you were always like "No, no, Sev is different… Sev is lovely… Sev shouldn't be in Slytherin…" and no matter what I said you stood by him. You should have listened to me!" The two stormed into the castle and automatically headed straight to the library where they grabbed a table in the corner and put their heads together.

"What should I do, Mary?" Lily asked desperately, already beginning to feel the stirrings of guilt within her stomach. "I was far too harsh on him… He was just angry, that's all." Mary sighed, a pitying expression appearing on her features as she reached across the table to pat Lily's hand in a friendly manner.

"Lily, I'm sorry but listen to yourself. Yes, you always manage to find the best in people but what does it say about Snape that the first insulting word he could think of was… was that horrible term? Sure, he was angry, but it just shows that he was put into the right house if, instead of thanking you, he insults you. Now come on, you can war with your thoughts later – the librarian's giving us evil looks so we should probably do some work. It'll get your mind off it." Mary sent her a soft smile and then dug around in her bag and extracted a scroll of parchment. Lily sighed and copied her actions but knew that it was no use – being called such an insulting thing by one's best friend wasn't something easily forgotten.


	71. Obsession

**Keyword: Obsession**

"You know, this obsession with me isn't healthy." James grinned up at Lily as she leant on his desk, her smile fun and dangerous. He quirked an eyebrow, wondering what had spiked the change from the angry Lily he had seen this morning to this flirtier, more daring version.

"I wouldn't call it an obsession," he replied cheekily, moving his books and gesturing for her to sit down, which she did. It was such an unusual scene – a studying James Potter being interrupted by a flirty Lily Evans. He would have to take advantage of this.

"And why on earth not? You've been asking me out since first year, which is six years ago by the way, you probably actually know more about me than I do myself, and I swear to Merlin every time I turn you down you look like someone's killed your puppy." Hmmm, definitely some opportunities here.

"Why do you keep turning me down, then?" He demanded and she sighed, relaxing in her seat as she examined him.

Well, I'd have thought it was obvious that I don't like you in that way." James immediately sat up straight, his eyes flashing dangerously as he regarded her.

"Why, do you like someone else? Don't tell me you're back on Cresswell again – you broke up ages ago. Or have you forgiven _Snivellus?_" He sneered the name and immediately angry Lily was back and glaring darkly at him.

"This is why I don't like you – because you're a hot-headed, jealous jerk when you can't even be jealous because I'm not yours – I'm not anyone's!" The two scowled at each other for a long moment before James shrugged.

"So you don't like Snivellus?" He asked hopefully and Lily let out an angry sigh.

"I don't tend to have loving feelings for those who are deeply engrossed in the Dark Arts. Even if he hadn't called me a Mudblood I wouldn't have gone out with him because of that."

"I haven't called you a you-know-what and I'm not "deeply engrossed in the Dark Arts"… go out with me?" James asked hopefully. Lily sighed, laughed slightly, scooped up her bag, and left the library. James gazed hopefully after her… She hadn't exactly turned him down.


	72. Pawn

**Keyword: Pawn**

She was the first one there, he noticed. Merlin, she seemed to be even more beautiful than he remembered, and she had always been so stunning in his memories that he noticed no one else. It didn't matter that Potter and Black and Lupin and Pettigrew were all there – he only saw her.

"Hey, Sev," she said softly and he nearly broke down with happiness – it was so good to hear her voice again. Nothing mattered to him now; not that he'd always just been a pawn in the plot of the Dark Lord, not that he'd actually grown to care somewhat for the Potter boy and then had to find out he was just going to die anyway, not even the fact that he himself had died. Actually, he was happy he had died. He was finally happy. He was with Lily.

"Lily…" he breathed softly and she smiled and hugged him. He relaxed into her embrace, knowing that all had been forgiven – the incident in fifth year, joining the Dark Lord, even all of the seemingly bad things he'd done after his death. She knew that they had all been for Harry and, therefore, for her.

"You were so, so brave," Lily whispered to him. "Without you… Harry could be… You've saved him so many times…" She pulled away from him, tears of happiness shining in her eyes even as the war raged on below them.

"You were all brave," James's voice broke into their little bubble of silence and Severus looked around for the first time, his eyes widening. There were so many – ranging from the age of a newborn to well over a century – and they were all staring at him with admiration clear in their eyes. He felt slightly sick as he noticed many of his pupils, both former and current, and he hated to admit it but it was odd seeing one Weasley twin without the other.

"So many…" Severus murmured to Lily who nodded; her expression solemn as she regarded them. Then her eyes started to shine again as she turned back to him.

"There'd be many more if it weren't for you, Severus," she said softly and then, as if it had been practiced, everyone standing there began to applaud.


	73. I Can't

**Keywords: I Can't**

"I can't believe that when this is over, I'll have _two _grandchildren!" Lily sang, dancing about with Sirius who looked pleasantly surprised at the interaction. James rolled his eyes at Sirius's grin and cut in to swing Lily about. Severus glowered at them from his corner and then they all suddenly quietened down to listen as the cries of a newborn cut through the air.

"Oh gosh, isn't he adorable?" Tonks cooed, talking about the tiny child with its mop of dark hair, but looking at a seven year old Teddy who was sitting on Hermione's lap and gazing at the small bundle that was Harry and Ginny's second son with open curiosity. The entire crowd erupted with gushing comments from the women and manly whooping from the men.

"Everyone shush so we can hear his name!" James yelled, making several people jump. "I personally am betting on Remus Hedwig – who agrees?" There were light chuckles from most of the crowd, excluding Severus who just continued to glare from his corner.

"Nah, Prongs, Harry'd never call his son something as ridiculous as _Remus,_" Sirius called teasingly, nudging Remus in the ribs with his elbow and grinning cheekily as Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. Lily hushed the crowd as one of the many redheads in the room below began to speak.

"So, Gin, did he let you have any say in the name this time?" The man asked and everyone who heard it laughed – except for Severus – as Ginny glared up at him, shaking her head and clutching her son close to her chest.

"His name is Albus Severus Potter," Harry announced proudly and a veil of silence fell across the huddle of people, all of whom simultaneously looked over their shoulders at Severus who was looking just as shocked as they were.

"I like it," Lily announced, smiling at Severus and, as if that settled it, everyone began nodding and chattering and peering over each other's shoulders in an attempt to see tiny Albus Severus.


	74. Demented

**Keyword: Demented**

He wonders if she knows that she looks completely demented, completely out of place at the funeral. For Merlin's sake – who wears pink to the funeral of their own sister? It's not tasteful, it's not respectful, and it sure as hell isn't right.

"So sorry for your loss, Petunia."

"Such a shame, such a terrible waste of a young life."

"It was long before her time was due, she will be greatly missed."

Severus catches faint snatches of the sombre conversation as the funeral procession moves away from the burial site and up to the small church where a gathering is being held for all those who weren't considered close enough to attend the funeral itself. It will be a chance to mourn, to reflect on the lives of Lily Evans and James Potter, to remember. Severus wouldn't be making an appearance.

He sighed and plucked himself out of the bushes as the last of the crowd disappeared into the church. He didn't bother to wipe away the tears on his face – he'd given up on wiping them away within a day of Lily's death. He hated that he was so weak and that he hadn't had the strength to stay away from this town, this graveyard.

"You could have come, you know." Severus jumps at the sound of a voice and is surprised to find himself already standing in front of the freshly placed earth covering her grave.

"If it weren't for me, the Dark Lord would not have heard of the prophecy and the Potters would still be alive," Severus said bitterly to the grave, glaring at it. "It would have been suicidal for me to appear in the open, despite the absence of Black."

"He would have been even less welcome than you," the voice spat harshly, surprising Severus – well, as surprised as he could be whilst standing in front of her grave. "He was the one who betrayed them, after all." Remus glared at the grave too, nodded curtly to Severus, and then walked away. Away from the grave, away from the church housing the mourners, and away from the man who would love Lily Evans until long after his dying day.


	75. Mirror

**Keyword: Mirror**

He couldn't stay away from that damn mirror. It was stuck in his mind, dogging his thought's footsteps, playing with his every inner notion, both waking and sleeping. That mirror had become the source of both dreams and nightmares for him – subconscious wishes that were so much more vivid than usual.

The Headmaster had not told them that they were keeping company with the infamous Mirror of Erised, naturally. He wouldn't have wanted his staff to be driven mad by the desire of something they so wanted, something that was so close, and yet so far out of reach. Unfortunately, Severus had come across the mirror on a night time wandering in which he was, yet again, following Quirrell who was undoubtedly up to no good.

Now he went to the mirror almost every night, and spent a good portion of the sleeping hours shrouded in darkness in front of the reflective surface that wasn't showing him himself, but what was within himself. Tonight was just another night spent in the company of his trapped love.

Through the mirror, Severus could see two people. One was himself, his younger self, dressed in his first year Hogwarts robes and looking small, pale and frightened, yet oddly thrilled at the same time. The other was, naturally, Lily. She too was dressed in the same manner as him, the only difference being the scarlet and gold of her tie, but she was, and there was no other word for it, _glowing_. Her hair was flowing around her shoulders, her green eyes were bright, and her lips were stretched into one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen. The two of them were sitting on the ground under the big tree, by the lake, chattering away happily, but every so often Lily would look away from his younger self and wave up at Severus through the mirror.

He had never felt so lost, and yet so found at the same time.


	76. Broken Pieces

**Keywords: Broken Pieces**

Severus glowered out of the window at the snow and all the pupils playing in it. He could see Potter and Granger and the Weasleys from here, larking about in the snow and acting in a generally idiotic manner as they pelted each other with large balls of tightly packed snow crystals.

"I remember our first year," Severus said out loud, moving away from the window and picking up the picture of Lily he kept in his desk. "It was one of the heaviest snow falls the castle had seen in years, and the morning after it fell you bounced up to me at breakfast and insisted that we go outside as soon as I had finished eating. We were the only ones out there and you immediately threw yourself down on your back, pulling me down beside you so we could make snow angels." A smile ghosted across Severus's face at the memory before he shook his head and put the picture back into his desk, closing the drawer with an angry crash.

He envied Potter. He really did. He wished he had the freedom to go out and play in the snow the way he had done so frequently when he was young. Winter used to be one of his favourite times of year because it made Lily so happy to watch the flakes dance through the air and then settle on the ground and make that perfect, white canvas that nothing else could mimic.

The first snow fall after her death had been hard. He'd gone outside and stood in the cold for several hours, allowing the soft white dust to collect on his shoulders before finally he shook them off angrily, packed a snowball tightly between his hands, and watched it explode into a million broken pieces against the tree he hurled it at.


	77. Test

**Keyword: Test**

"Sev? I'm scared." Severus looked up from his book and squinted at Lily in the dying light of the evening. It was impressive that he'd been able to read in this light, as he couldn't see Lily very clearly at all. He did manage to see the sceptical expression on her face and the way she rolled her eyes as she reached up to turn the light above their table on.

"What are you scared of?" He asked once his eyes had adjusted to the sudden brightness. Lily was drumming her slender fingers anxiously on the table and her eyes were wide with fear. Suddenly concerned, Severus sat forward and peered at her. "Lily, what's wrong? What happened?"

There was a long moment of silence during which Severus's fingers tightened on his book, wondering what had happened, and Lily chewed her lip anxiously as she attempted to word what was making her scared.

"What if I fail the potions test tomorrow?" She suddenly whispered and Severus relaxed, relieved it was something so trivial. "What if I fail because I'm not smart enough? What if I fail and that makes the teachers realise that they made a mistake and I'm not actually supposed to be here? What if they make me go home, Sev?"

"Lily, Slughorn said just yesterday that you've got a gift for potions, that you're a complete natural. If you fail, I hate to imagine what will happen to the rest of the class. Myself included." Severus sighed at the incredulous look on her face and shook his head fondly. "You've basically got the entire textbook memorised, Lils, and I've not seen you make a mistake with a potion yet. Just relax."

Lily sighed and slumped back in her seat, her fingers ceasing their nervous drumming as she pulled a book towards her and buried her nose in it. Neither of them said a word for an hour, but whenever Severus glanced up he would be met by a sweet, thankful smile from Lily.


	78. The Fool

**Keywords: The Fool**

"James, we should interrupt," Lily said desperately, scared of the way Severus and Sirius were arguing right over Harry's head. James was pacing beside his best friend in frustration, occasionally stopping to attempt to hit his best friend on the head which, naturally, did not work.

"Lily, do you not think I'm not trying! It's kind of impossible, love," he growled, sliding in between Sirius and Severus and then getting a bit of a shock when Harry did the exact same thing and he found that they were at the same height. "Lily, this isn't fair! He's going to be taller than me!" James whined and Lily rolled her eyes and whacked the back of his head.

"James, stop playing the fool and get away," Lily hissed, as if she were worried they'd be overheard as she shooed her husband away from the arguing men. "Honestly, your best friend and my old best friend are arguing over the head of our own son and you're worried about height? What did I ever see in you?" James frowned at the floor and muttered darkly to himself as Lily watched Harry watch the fight.

"Oh I just wish we could _do _something," Lily cried, wringing her hands together and taking up the pacing her husband had lost as he pulled out a ghostly replica of one of the chairs at the Black kitchen table and sat down at it. Lily could have almost sworn that Harry's eyes flickered to that chair, just for a split second.

"Well, face it Lily, we can't," James grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and basically going into full sulk mode as his wife sighed and rolled her eyes and tutted even whilst she was watching Harry and Severus and Sirius. Just as James was muttering about how he was not appreciated in life and he was far too generous and at least he _tried _and Lily was seriously considering hitting him just as the door swung open, effectively putting an end to the argument.


	79. Disease

**Keyword: Disease**

Oh how Severus hated James Potter. He spent constant days glowering endlessly at him from the other side of the Great Hall as they ate their meals to the backdrop of inane chatter and random bursts of laughter. When Severus wasn't glaring at Potter and his little bunch of minions he was busy gazing adoringly at the back of Lily's glowing head of hair.

James Potter just knew exactly how to get under his skin. Whenever Severus and Lily were walking somewhere or laughing and talking he would show up and make a snide comment or smirk and just completely ruin the moment and, annoyingly, James Potter was like a disease. His annoying ways quickly spread to their fellow classmates and then even slowly started to grow into other years, especially as Potter became more popular through Quidditch. It was as if his irksome ways were infectious and Severus and Lily were the only ones immune to it.

"Oi, Snivellus! I think it's about time you started thinking about a shower – maybe go for two a year instead of one!" The jeering comments were always on the same wavelength; regarding his hair, his clothes, his nose and occasionally his parents. Those ones were the hardest to ignore but usually Lily was there, glowering at those yelling the insults and giving Severus comforting looks but without pitying him. He loved that about her, she knew just how to reply and to act without making him feel bad about it.

"Just ignore them, Sev." She would say to him on an almost daily basis. "You're the bigger man, remember? One day you'll be successful and Potter will be begging you for help and it will be up to you to decide if you help the arrogant toe-rag or if you let him fend for himself." She always managed to make him smile, and this conversation was usually concluded with an agreement to always be friends and to never let James Potter under their skin.


	80. Words

**Keyword: Words**

"Words can't convey this grief." His fingers traced over the words on the cold, gleaming marble of the headstone. He was carefully avoiding Potter's name and details, naturally, but he just couldn't look away from Lily's name shining there. It shouldn't be there. It was too soon. Far too soon, for anyone let alone his Lily.

The glow of the morning was slowly creeping through the graveyard where Severus had spent the past few days staring at the grave, though it felt like he had been there for aeons and aeons staring at her name with such intensity that at one point he had convinced himself that he had actually heard her mellifluous voice calling his name.

"This is my place in the world now," Severus sighed to himself, his voice cracked from the combination of lack of use and the amount he had been crying. "I will spend the rest of my life crying over a piece of marble that shouldn't exist yet and being tortured by the fact that the _baby _was allowed to live. Well, not exactly allowed per se but either way he was alive and Lily was not.

He cringed and silently asked himself at exactly which moment he had gone insane. He wondered if it had been before he joined the Dark side, if it had been when he found out the plan to kill the Potters or if it had happened more recently than that. Either way, he was no longer in complete control of his thoughts.

At some point during that day the tattoo on his arm burned and scalded and changed from dull black to bright ebony as his master called him. He considered not going for a moment, considered betraying those who had already betrayed him, considered walking to the death of a traitor with his head held high but he couldn't do it. Lily would need him to stay here. To stay here and make sure her son wasn't killed by the very people Severus worked for.


	81. Edge

**Keyword: Edge**

Lily had sent the invitation to Severus without asking James for two reasons. She hadn't told James because she knew he would refuse and then do anything in his power to prevent her inviting him and she had invited Severus because she missed her best friend and she wanted to bridge the gap between them. She knew there'd been bad words exchanged and feelings hurt and it would take some work but she missed him.

He didn't come though. She'd been the edge of the seat for the entire time her hair and make-up were being done and when she was being buttoned into her dress (a procedure which took far too long) her mother actually stopped fastening buttons and come round to stop her daughter chewing her nails off. She knew he hadn't replied to the invitation but she was still hopeful and as she walked up the aisle, smiling at everyone, she was also searching for her old friend.

Severus had been sitting on a bench across the road from the church under a Disillusionment charm so no one would see him. He'd been there when Lily arrived and he had to force himself not to run into the church and object to the marriage. She had looked so ridiculously beautiful and as if not a day had passed since he last saw her – it had been less than a year but it felt like an eternity to him – but she looked nervous and worried. He wondered if she was thinking about him but squashed the thoughts bitterly guessing that she probably just had pre-wedding jitters.

He was still sitting there when the happy couple left the church a while later to rousing applause and a storm of confetti. He wanted to punch the happy smirk off Potter's face but he didn't. He tried not to think about the fact that Lily was now Potter's wife and instead put the image of her beaming face into the back of his mind to be called up on the darkest of days.


	82. Forever

**Keyword: Forever**

In his very last moments, as he felt his life slipping away, Severus Snape finally found the sense of peace which had been missing all his life. He didn't realise it had been missing until that moment when his spirit left his body and suddenly he realised that everything was finally going to be alright. Well, unless the spirits of the Marauders tried to beat him up. Then things might not be so alright. But then again, now they knew what he'd been through for the sake of one Harry Potter. He wondered if turning into a bumbling fool was one of the side effects of dying.

He was scared, he realised. He had found that sense of inner peace but he was terrified. He didn't want to die – who did? And it had been so painful too.

But the boy had the memory now and that was all that mattered. He would see the entire story and the truth that came with it. He would know everything at last and hear all the answers that Dumbledore hadn't been able to give him. He would die for it but he would be giving someone else, a different hero, the chance to finally put an end to the Dark Lord – once and for all.

Then his mother was there and she was calling for him and it all felt entirely too normal to speak back to as if he weren't dead and she hadn't been dead for several years. But he was dead, his body laying cold on the floor beneath them and she was dead too, her body lying in the cemetery on the outskirts of Cokeworth.

"I'd steer clear of James and Sirius though, for now. They're still holding a vendetta against you…"

A sneer appeared on his face at his mother's statement as he followed her to… wherever they were going. He didn't particularly mind that they had their vendetta against him because, after all, they had forever to hate each other.


	83. Heal

**Keyword: Heal**

"Today we're going casting the basic Healing Charms which we have recently been studying the theory of," Professor Flitwick squeaked from his place at the front of the class where he was perched precariously on a stack of books in an attempt to see all his students. There were interested murmurs of relief and a couple of chuckles from some people as whispers of 'finally I can learn how to look after myself after Quidditch' came from a group of Gryffindors at the back.

"Now, in order to learn how to properly cast this spell, the person who is having the spell cast on them must be injured in some sort of way. That means that I, and only I, will be casting a spell on some of you which will lead to you have a small bruise or superficial cut however the spell will make it absolutely painless. I will say it again; I will be the only one who will be casting this particular spell because if it is performed wrongly it will cause severe damage and pain, yes Mr Black I am indeed talking to you." Flitwick punctuated the last word of his rant with a quick hand gesture and promptly fell off his book stack, much to the amusement of some students. He thanked the Gryffindor who had run forwards to help him up and started wandering up and down the aisles between the desks, stopping at each desk to cast the spell he had talked about on one of the three sitting there.

"Mr Potter, Mr Lupin and Miss Evans – again my dear, I will apologise for moving you out of your seat but it was clear that Mr Potter and Mr Black were having trouble working together without being fools about it," he paused to raise an eyebrow at James who had the grace to blush. "Who of you will volunteer to have the spell cast on them?"

Lupin shyly raised his hand, having discussed it a minute ago with his desk partners, and Flitwick nodded and cast the spell. A small purple bruise appeared on the back of Lupin's hand and Flitwick moved away as James squinted at the mark with fascination.

"That's tiny; I can barely see it to aim at it. Bet we can make it bigger," he immediately said when Flitwick was out of earshot. Lily hissed at him, reminding him that Flitwick had said they weren't to try the spell, and Lupin tried weakly to stop him but James was already moving his wand and his mouth. Lily frowned and reached over, flicking the arrogant boy's wand away from Lupin's hand. She had meant for it to aim at the desk but somehow it ended up pointing at James' own hand as he finished the spell.

A minute later he was howling with pain whilst Lily howled with laughter, catching Severus' eye across the classroom and only laughing harder, especially when Flitwick came over and gave James a detention and a good scolding.


	84. Out Cold

**Keywords: Out Cold**

The crowd both roared with delight and hissed with displeasure as the Gryffindor captain rolled beneath the Slytherin Keeper and slammed the Quaffle through the centre hoop. James Potter then predictably went on to celebrate in his usual obnoxious manner by pulling his jumper up over his eyes and flying around the pitch somewhat blinded. His celebration was stopped rather abruptly when he flew into the very same hoop he'd just scored through.

"Gryffindor is leading by seventy points to zero and… the Gryffindor captain has just knocked himself out cold. Well done James, good show, good show," Benjy Fenwick whooped into the enchanted microphone, dancing around with excitement and attempting not to step on Professor Flitwick as he did so. He failed and sent the Charms professor a momentary smile of apology before he resumed his excited commentary, struggling to be heard over the sneers and laughter of the Slytherins and the gasps of horror from the rest of the crowd as James seemed to fall in slow motion. Professor McGonagall's breath of relief was heard through the microphone, joining those of the Gryffindor supporters as someone in the crowd whipped out their wand and James was lowered carefully to the ground.

Severus had been laughing along with the rest of the Slytherin crowd until he glanced over to the Gryffindor stands and recoiled slightly as he saw it was Lily who had drawn her wand to save James from what could have been a fatal fall. She wasn't looking at James though, not now that he was safely on the ground being attended to. She was gazing at Severus with no expression on her face and that cut him deep. She'd seen him laughing, he could tell, and he wondered if she cared, why she cared, about James Potter all of a sudden. It had been over a year since the Mudblood incident and he had promised himself that he would grow to not care anymore but it wasn't working.

So when he watched as she looked away from him and put her wand away and started making her way towards James through the crowd, the game having been stopped to make sure he was alright. He watched her go and he felt her grow that little bit more distant.


End file.
